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Why Not Cycle Abroad 
Yourself ? 



WHAT A BICYCLE TRIP IN EUROPE) COSTS, HOW TO 

TAKE IT, HOW TO ENJOY IT, WITH A 

NARRATIVE OF PERSONAL, TOURS, 

ILLUSTRATIONS AND 

MAPS. 



BY 

CLARENCE STETSON. 



Copyright i8q8. 



Published by F. & E. GREENEBAUM. 
13 Spruce St., New York. 



For Sale by The American News Company. 

Paper, 50 Cents ; Cloth, 75 Cents and $1. 

2nd COPY, 

1898. - . ^ 



'■ ' 







3929 



Copyrighted 1898. 
By Clarence Stetson. All rights reserved. 



[NOXQNIHSVi*! 

jSfTCOMOd 10 j 

A1VY8I1 8HX 



CHAPTER I. 



The Pleasures and Cheapness of a Bicycle 
Tour Abroad, 



/ Y 




g|MD 0"ER T HE ^TCl} AND FAR AWAY c i£g 

Beyond THE\l4 utm^l^urple RT 

| fflEYOND^^S^^HE DAY 
,,PRO Ay^ff WORLD .WE FOUOwfeo -HIM 





EARS ago Tennyson wrote these 
lines to describe the perigrinations 
of a young woman in love. The poet 
doesn't say how his hero and hero- 
ine traveled, so they may have 
taken the railroad train, or voyaged 
by an ocean steamer, or possibly 

they traveled by balloon, or had a bit of the 

magic carpet mentioned in the "Arabian 

Nights." 
But if Tennyson were writing of to-day, we 

should have no hesitation in concluding how 

"she" followed him. 



What would any sensible nineteenth century 
up-to-date young woman do nowadays if set- 
ting out on a journey beyond the night and 
across the day, to say nothing of going be- 
yond the furthermost purple rim? Why, nat- 
urally she would get out her bicycle, read this 
little book which would tell her all she need to 
know, and start off throughout the world at an 
expense which would make her or anyone else 
think living in a Harlem flat dear by compari- 
son, considering the returns achieved. 

But seriously, even in this land of bicycles, 
where grown women would like to tuck their 
wheels under their pillows at night, just as 
they used to do with their dolls, in days gone 
by, are the possibilities of the bicycle fully 
understood? A change of scene is quite as 
necessary to health and contentment of mind as 
change of diet, and it is fair to believe that 
there are many American cyclists who would 
like to get away from the beaten track and 
cycle in Europe if they were not deterred by 
the lack of knowledge of how much it would 
cost and the way to do it, besides being over- 
whelmed at the prospect of wheeling in coun- 
tries where they could not speak the language. 
Let me in a single round settle these two buga- 
boos of cycling abroad. 

As to the expense: Aside from the first cost 
of the ocean passage a European tour on a 
bicycle costs no more than, if as much as, an 
ordinary summer outing at home under the 



same conditions and of a like duration. The 
truth is that the cheapness of a wheeling tour 
in Europe is really remarkable — if one wishes to 
make it cheap and knows how. As to languages 
one has no need of an interpreter. Abroad, as 
elsewhere, money talks and is the best inter- 
preter you can possibly have. However, this 
statement is made with limitation. I have no 
wish to disparage the worth of linguistic at- 
tainments, and no one is further from belittling 
the value of a knowledge of French, for in- 
stance, with a smattering of as many other 
languages thrown in as you can conveniently 
get into your hand bag. Still, one can go as far 
as to say that with a fair idea, in advance, of 
what things ought to cost, and with all the in- 
formation which it is our object to have com- 
prised in this little volume, one can travel 
throughout Europe on a bicycle without being 
subjected either to extortion or petty annoy- 
ances, and with perfect ease, comfort and 
safety. I make this statement, too, not from 
any theoretical point of view. It is based on ac- 
tual experience in Italy, where, ordinarily, 
nothing is spoken except the language of the 
country. There I have often stopped at a cafe to 
enquire the way to the next town in my 
choicest Italian, and have been understood to 
say that I wanted a bottle of their best Chianti. 
Still, such an experience is so novel, and you 
and your friends get so much amusement out 
of it, that it becomes a pleasant incident of the 



trip. Besides, it really isn't a serious matter 
if you get to your destination perhaps a bit 
later than you expected. You may be sure that 
the extra time will not have been without pleas- 
ure and profit. 

In Holland, too, cyclists find that they might 
as well be deaf mutes as far as holding ex- 
tended communication with the inhabitants 
goes. The fact is, that with good maps which 
can be obtained anywhere in Europe and 
which are made specially for the use cyclists, 
one doesn't need to do much talking, particu- 
larly if the route has been carefully studied 
beforehand. Still, one will find it very con- 
venient to have in one's pocket one of Nutt's 
dictionaries, which are only about three or four 
inches long by two or three wide, and give you 
an astonishingly complete list of English words 
with the foreign equivalent in the language of 
whatever country you may find yourself in. 
These useful little volumes unite, too, the quali- 
ties of a dictionary and a conversational hand- 
book, besides containing much general infor- 
mation in foot notes. With such able assist- 
ance and a map the most timid traveler will 
feel himself at home anywhere in Europe. 

So much for any linguistic difficulties 
Now we'll get down to the solid facts of what 
is necessary to the successful accomplishment 
of a bicycle trip in Europe and the attendant 
expenses of the journey from the time you 
leave New York until the return trip is made. 



Books, almost beyond number, have been 
written of ordinary trips to every corner ol 
Europe, and Baedeker supplies every want of 
the ordinary tourist. Therefore, all informa- 
tion other than that of use to cyclists, and all 
incidents not of peculiar interest to them, will 
And no place in the following chapters. 

Of course the bicycle, like the baby — I be- 
lieve in families where expense is an item and 
they can't have both, they generally choose the 
former — is the first thing to be considered. 

In the matter of the transportation of your 
wheel you have no reason for speculation as to 
the cost. All the steamship lines, no matter 
what may be the cost of a first cabin passage, 
have "pooled" their issues and have agreed 
upon a uniform rate of $2.50 for each wheel. 
It is required that your bicycle should be 
crated in some manner or other. In France, 
basket frames, which can be had for $5, are 
much in vogue, but a bicycle can readily be 
nailed up with light boards at a very moderate 
cost and in such a way as to answer every pur- 
pose; or any bicycle dealer will crate your 
wheel for you. 

The initial expense of the ocean trip depends 
largely upon your tastes, inclinations and the 
place in Europe at which you wish to begin your 
actual wheeling. The rates on all steamships 
are about twenty per cent, higher between the 
last of April and the last of October than dur- 
ing the rest of the year. To give some basis of 



just named— from $85 to $107 as the lowest sin- 
gle first-class ticket through from New York to 
Loudon; to Paris, $90 to $110; $75 to $100 to 
Southampton, Liverpool, Plymouth or Havre; 
$90 to $110 to Bremen or Hamburg. 
During the winter season these rates 
are reduced to the basis of about $80 to 
London. For outside staterooms, and those on 
the upper or promenade deck higher rates are 
charged. If you are willing to go second class, 
where often the accommodations are very good 
and the table excellent, you can travel at about 
65 per cent, of these figures. Besides crossing 
on the great and best known lines there are 
other and extremely comfortable ways of get- 
ting across the Atlantic, if you are willing to 
spend a little more time at it. All the first 
class line steamers cross in about seven days. 
If you are willing to devote ten days to it you 
can go to London in the summer season, first 
class, on the Atlantic Transport or Leyland 
lines for $50 to $70. These steamers have "bilge 
keels" — an arrangement which practically pre- 
vents rolling — and while they carry cattle the 
cattle are all below decks, and out of sight, 
and are no source of annoyance. Many persons 
prefer these steamers because of their great 
steadiness. Their table has been highly com- 
mended. 

Besides these steamers there are lines, not so 
well known as the first-class companies, which 
will carry you in very comfortable steamers to 



Amsterdam for $75 to $80, or to Antwerp for 
$65 to $75. You can also go to Glasgow for 
from $50 to $80. All these prices are for single 
first-class tickets in the summer season. Winter 
rates are at a reduction, but under the new 
agreement between the steamship companies 
round trip tickets except on one or two lines 
are no longer offered at a discount. While 
winter rates «x^ in force one can cross for as 
little as $45. 

You will find it to your advantage, as soon 
as you have selected your European destination 
and the line by which you wish to reach it, to 
secure your staterooms at the earliest possible 
moment. The summer rush to Europe is now 
so heavy that all the rooms on some steamers 
are taken a month before the vessel sails. 

If you decide to land at an English port — 
Southampton, Liverpool, or Plymouth, let us 
say— you will find wheeling thence to London 
an enjoyable experience. There are no customs 
duties in England on bicycles, and no irksome 
regulations governing the introduction of your 
wheel. The roads are admirable, the scenery, 
while quiet, is sweet and refreshing, and many 
of the towns on the way have interesting old 
churches or places of historical interest, the 
only drawback being that sometimes the rural 
inns leave much to be desired. If you land 
at Southampton you will find much to interest 
you at Winchester and Aldershot; your road 
from Plymouth brings you through Exeter, 



ON TIE 




Taunton, Bristol and Bath; from Liverpool you 
can make Manchester, the Peaks of Derby or 
Oxford, on your way to London. From London 
you can ride down to Dover through the lovely 
Kentish hills and Rochester and Canterbury, and 
take the boat at a small cost for Calais; or you 
can buy a railroad ticket by New Haven and 
Dieppe to Paris for $6, and ship your wheel as 
baggage; or you can get to the Continent in 
half a dozen other ways, for the most part 
agreeable and cheap. 

Bicycling in England is so much like bicycl- 
ing at home, among a people with a common 
language, and customs, which, though different, 
are really familiar to us, that no suggestions 
are needed for the assistance or comfort of the 
fortunate person who undertakes it. The only 
essential wherein it differs from bicycling in 
the United States is that the wheelman must 
keep to the left of the road instead of to the 
right. 

If a tour in England is contemplated before 
going to the continent, I should certainly rec- 
ommend the tourist to join the Touring Club of 
England, as that will entitle him to a card of 
membership, and by showing this he will avoid 
any question over duties on landing in France. 
The imposition of duties on tourists' bicycles 
in France seems to depend upon certain condi- 
tions. I have known many Americans who on 
landing have had no difficulty whatsoever in 
persuading the French Custom House officials 
11 



that they were merely tourists, and have been 
allowed thereupon to pass their bicycles free 
of duty. In other instances, however, the duty 
has been demanded, and no explanations would 
suffice to make the official change his mind on 
that point. Perhaps it makes a difference 
whether you see a French Custom House offi- 
cial before or after dinner. But after all, this 
isn't a very serious matter, and if the official 
insists upon your paying duty on your ma- 
chine after you have explained to him that you 
are simply on a pleasure tour, the best thing to 
do is to pay the money and take a receipt. This 
receipt you present when you leave France, 
whether it is on your way back home or in 
crossing the frontier into some other country, 
and you receive your money back again. That 
is, if you take your bicycle outside of France 
within a year from the time you entered it. 
The duty anyway is only 25 cents a pound, 
which means that you are only tying up $5 or 
$6 during your stay in the country. The absur- 
dity of taxing bicycles by the pound is easily 
seen when one stops to think that a most care- 
fully made machine of extraordinary lightness, 
which may have cost $200, and may be the 
property of a millionaire, would pay less duty 
than the heavy old fashioned machine of some 
poor laboring man who could afford no better. 
If you are going to France it is wise to be- 
come a member of the French Touring Club, 
because that enables you to take your bicycle 
12 



in free of duty and gives you other substantial 
advantages, as will appear later. It is possible 
to join the Touring Club de France by apply- 
ing to Mr. Francis S. Hesseltine, Delegue, Tour- 
ing Club de France, 10 Tremont street, Boston, 
Mass. The following is the blank form which 
has to be filled out. The expense attached is 
only $1.20, which includes the admission fee 
and the annuaire which is issued by the Club 
monthly. 

DEMANDE D'ADMISSION. 

Je demande mon admission au TOURING-CLUB 
DE FRANCE. 

Ci-joint: 5 francs, montant de la cotisation de 
I'annee courante, plus 1 fr. pour recevoir 1' ANNU- 
AIRE franco (*). (Le rachat de la cotisation est 
admis moyennant le versement d'une somme de 
Cent francs; il confere la qualite de Membre a 
vie). 

Les candidats habitant les Colonies ou l'Etranger 
doivent joindre 1 franc pour le service de la Revue. 

NOTA.-Le volume "Plans de Voyages' et d'Ex- 
cursions" pour toute la France et pays voisins est 
joint a renvoi moyennant un franc. 

SIGNATURE: 

Nom 

Prenoms 

Profession 

(Soit l'actuelle, soit l'ancienne.) 

Nationalite 

Decorations et distinctions honorifiques 

(*) Envoyer les mandats ou bons de poste au 
nom de M. P. Leroy, tresorier du T. C. F. 

But such an application should be made at 

least six weeks or two months prior to the 

time fixed for your departure. If this course is 

pursued all trouble about entering your bicycle 

13 



into France is done away with at once. There 
is another association in Boston which ladies 
traveling alone may find it to their interest to 
consult before taking the European trip. It is 
known as the "Women's Rest Tour Associa- 
tion." Its object is to furnish to women who 
travel for rest, study or pleasure, such prac- 
tical advice and encouragement as shall enable 
them to travel independently, intelligently and 
economically. For membership in the Associa- 
tion and all particulars apply to No. 264 Boyl- 
ston street, Boston, Mass. 




CHAPTER II. 



Information and General Advice* 

T HAS already been stated that there 
is no duty on entering your bicycle 
in England for touring purposes. 
For information as to joining the 
Cyclers' Touring Club apply to 
Mr. Frank W. Weston, United 
States Chief Consul, Boston. Mr. 
Weston will furnish information free, but 
applicants should send stamps for reply. 
The membership of this English cycling 
club is an international one, there being be- 
tween forty and fifty thousand members al- 
ready enrolled. Circulars of application for 
membership, information as to hand books, 
road maps, badges and all like details can be 
had on applying as above. The annual sub- 
scription fee is $1.35, while the entrance fee is 
thirty cents. The advantages of the club are 
detailed in their circulars and embody the fol- 
lowing: 

15 



To encourage and facilitate touring in all parts of 
the world. 

To provide riding or touring companions. 

To protect its members against any infringement of 
the rights and privileges to which they are entitled, 
and to extend those rights and privileges wherever 
possible. 

To secure special rates and increased privileges, and 
to appoint hotels and inns for the convenience of its 
members in all countries where cycling is practiced. ' 

To appoint a consul in every town, who shall render 
to his fellow-members local information germane to 
the pastime unobtainable from other sources. 

To similarly appoint official repairers, competent to 
remedy breakages and defects in machines. 

To publish monthly an official gazette, to be supplied 
gratis to members only. 

To compile and issue to members at reduced prices, 
maps and road books especially adapted to the require- 
ments of the cyclist. 

To inculcate and encourage an esprit de corps in the 
brotherhood of the wheel, and to uphold and pro- 
mote the true interests of cycling the wide world over. 

The L. A. W. is represented in England by 
the Foreign Marshal, Joseph Pennell, care J. S. 
Morgan & Co., 22 Old Broad Street, London, 
E. C. 



FRANCE. 

If you have made no other arrangements and 
have not joined the Touring Club de France, 
but have simply decided to pay duty on your 
wheel on landing in France, you will receive, 
on handing over the twenty-five cents per 
pound, a receipt for the sum, and the official 
will also attach a lead seal to your wheel. This 
is what is known as having your bicycle 
plombe. The seal is removed when you claim 
your deposit at any frontier point by which 
16 



you may leave France. French citizens pay 
$2 a year as a tax on their machine. The 
imposition of this tax on bicycles brings in 
something like $150,000 in Paris alone, which 
is about one-fifth of the sum received from the 
tax throughout the whole of France. In road 
riding you will notice that the hills are nearly 
always marked with posts, which warn the 
rider of their dangers either in the way of 
steepness or sharp turns. But in France even 
ladies can easily ride many of the hills marked 
as dangerous. The edict of the Prefet of Police 
in Paris says that your machine must bear a 
bell or gong which can be heard at least fifty 
yards, and in Paris particularly one must be 
very certain to have some sort of a light as 
darkness approaches. Chinese lanterns carried 
in the hand are in very general use. In streets 
crowded with pedestrians the rider must dis- 
mount and push his wheel. Cyclists are not 
allowed to form in groups so as to obstruct the 
public ways or cross funerals or military pro- 
cessions. They are forbidden to cycle on foot- 
paths reserved for pedestrians except in special 
instances where the road is impassable, and 
then they are expected to moderate their speed. 
The French Minister of Public Works has 
compelled by decree all railroads to carry 
cycles as baggage and makes them responsible 
for any damage. The rules of the road for 
keeping to the right and other details are the 
same as in the United States. All citizens of 
17 



France who ride bicycles are required to have 
their names and addresses on their machines, 
and it is just as well for even a casual visitor to 
take the same precaution, although he may 
not be liable to the same regulations, being a 
non-resident. In fact, I have ridden a bicycle 
two years in Paris without ever having been 
asked to show my plaque, or official certificate. 
Still, if you are not living at a hotel, observation 
of this provision of the law will probably be 
demanded. 

The advantages to the members of the Tour- 
ing Club de France are quite pronounced. One 
of the chief is the freedom with which you can 
cross the frontiers of the neighboring coun- 
tries without being troubled by custom officials 
for a deposit on your machine, for the club has 
obtained this concession in behalf of its mem- 
bers from most of the adjacent nations. Inci- 
dentally, many hotels give a discount, in most 
cases of ten per cent, and, moreover, one is 
assured of courteous treatment and special con- 
sideration if one displays a badge or card of 
membership in this club, which now numbers 
more than sixty thousand members. The club 
also has a representative in every town and 
city in France always willing to give you any 
advice and information possible. The club's 
headquarters are situated in the Rue Coq- 
Heron, No. 5, Paris. It is well always to have 
photograph on your card of identity, a fac 
simile of which is appended. 
18 




ttARFIl ll>i)(l>(lP¥S]fi 



SIGNATURE! DO TITULAIRE 



Sun /'attestation deJYIfl. 

S/G«ATl/«£S OES TtMOINS 

RENSEIGNEMENTS f NATURE £ MARQUE __ _ 

POUR LA OOUANE ,1 GENRf :E BAWPAGE „..... fe'£&fiilt 



.jsJjajlJS.^^ ! 




sation de la Signature de 




&¥./.£ 3.... 



IIEL6IUM. 



Before making a trip to Belgium, it is 
well to get a special permit from the head- 
quarters of the club in the Rue Coq- 
Heron, as the Belgium authorities are more 
particular in such matters than those that 
one finds on almost any other frontier. 

Tourists not members of the Touring 
Club de Prance have to make a deposit at 
the Belgium Custom House of a sum 
amounting to twelve per cent, ad valorem. 
This amount is refunded when you take 
your machine out of the country. The ex- 
emption allowed to the Touring Club mem- 
bers is for six months only. There is always 
less trouble getting your wheel across the 
. 19 



frontier if you are riding it and not travel- 
ing by train. Persons who are going to 
travel in Europe by rail are advised not 
to take their wheels with them at all un- 
less they are going to make a long stay at 
some given point. You can hire very fair 
bicycles anywhere in Europe. 

GERMANY. 

The duty on bicycles in Germany amounts 
to three cents a pound, if the machine is for 
sale. The tourists pay nothing — no deposit 
is required. The foreign consul of the 
League of American Wheelmen in Germany 
can always be consulted for advice and in- 
formation. His address is Friedrich 
Schleicher, Duren Rheinland, Bonner- 
strasse, 16, Germany. 

AUSTRIA. 

In Austria, by special decree, you are 
compelled to swear that your wheel is not 
for sale and that you are simply a tem- 
porary visitor in Austria; you then deposit 
$10 at the Custom House, but this deposit 
is refunded when you take your wheel out 
of the country. 

ITALY. 

Here you deposit a sum amounting to a 
little more than $8 as a guarantee that your 

20 



wheel is not for sale. Members of the Tour- 
ing Club de France are exempt on present- 
ing their card of membership, but you 
must not forget to declare your wheel, in 
crossing the frontier again, on your way 
out of Italy; otherwise your club will be 
called upon to pay the duty on your ma- 
chine. If you have made a deposit it is 
given back to you when you leave the 
country. 

SWITZERLAND. 

The duty here amounts to six cents a 
pound, and the conditions are the same as 
in Italy, members of the Touring Club de 
France being exempt. On each frontier a 
lead seal will be attached to your machine 
and will be removed when you cross it 
again. 

DENMARK. 

Here you deposit with the Custom House 
ten per cent, ad valorem with a guarantee 
you will not sell your wheel. The deposit 
will only be refunded at the Custom House 
where the entry was made, unless by spe- 
cial permit. 

EGYPT. 

Duty, eight per cent, ad-valorem, of which 
only seven per cent, will be refunded. Be 
21 



particular to get the proper receipt for your 
money deposited. 

GREECE. 

Cyclists have to pay first an octroi duty 
of forty cents payable at point of entry. 
This will be returned. There is still an- 
other duty of $2, which will be returned 
to you less $1 for expenses, or with a slight- 
ly additional charge if you do not leave the 
country at the same Custom House. 

LUXEMBOURG. 

Duty here is about three cents a pound, 
the members of tue Touring Club de France 
being exempt. 

NETHERLANDS. 

Duty is five per cent, ad valorem, but 
tourists enter without having to make a 
deposit or pay any duty. 

PORTUGAL. 

Tourists pay a duty of twenty-seven per 
cent, ad valorem, but can get their money 
back on leaving the country by any point 
where there is a custom house. 

SPAIN. 

Here the duty amounts to about six cents 
a pound, on depositing which you receive 
22 



a pass good for six months, for which you 
pay the sum of twenty cents. In this 
country there are many petty formalities 
connected with getting your pass, and if the 
slightest mistake is made in your declara- 
tion, or you in any way misunderstand the 
requirements, you do not get your money 
back when you leave the country. There- 
fore it is better here to engage somebody 
beforehand to arrange the matter for you. 

SWEDEN. 

Here a deposit of fifteen per cent, ad 
valorem is demanded, and in order to have 
the money refunded you must leave the 
country by the port of entry. If you re- 
main in the country more than sixty days 
your deposit is forfeited. 

TURKEY. 

Duty required amounts to eight per cent, 
ad valorem, of which only seven per cent, is 
returned to you and you are lucky if you 
get that. 

RUSSIA. 

The payment of $7.80 on each machine is 
here required. You can't get this money 
back unless you go out by the port of entry, 
except by obtaining a special permit. 
23 



ROUMANIA. 

Here you pay $1.55 on each machine, 
which will be returned to you at the port 
of entry or elsewhere by special permit. 

Of course I needn't warn any cyclist to be 
sure and start with his wheel in perfect order. 
It is also well to take duplicate pieces of all 
parts of the machine which are liable to break 
or get out of order. The chain, the nuts and 
the other parts which you may require for your 
special machine may not be obtainable in every 
small town in Europe. Of course some cyclists 
are born mechanics and can fix their own 
wheels; such are to be congratulated, as the 
others may have to put up with bungling work 
in the way of repairs. But no one will make 
any mistake in taking as many duplicate parts 
of his machine along as possible. It is well 
to remember, too, when you are boxing your 
machine for the Atlantic trip, to cover all the 
nickel parts with a little vaseline or whatever 
may be your favorite preparation for prevent- 
ing rust. And don't forget to take along a 
good stick of graphite for the chain. 

Wheeling in the more remote country dis- 
tricts is much more attractive and picturesque 
than going over the same ground by railroad, 
and, in fact, some of the most delightful trips 
are those furthest from where the railroad runs. 
Odd little hotels with quaint surroundings are 
24 



to be found everywhere, and cheapness of 
rates and an honest display of hospitality seem 
to go hand in hand. Besides, and more par- 
ticularly is it the case if there are ladies in 
the party, you will find yourself objects of ex- 
traordinary interest wherever you go. Of 
course the saving in railroad fares lightens 
very much the cost of the trip and bicyclists 
always get the best of rates at the hotels. 

The only uncertainty as to the pleasure of 
touring on a wheel in Europe, is, of course, due 
to the weather. But naturally, when it rains, 
you don't wheel. In such a case if merely 
caught in a light shower, the gauze rubber cape, 
weighing only a few ounces, which you should 
include in the effects which you carry on your 
machine, would be sufficient to protect you 
until you arrive at the nearest town or village 
where there is a railway or a tramway. From 
there you can make for the largest town or 
city by rail, and there is sure to be one not 
many miles away. Once there, the novelty of 
finding yourself amid new surroundings lessens 
very much the weariness of waiting for the 
rain to stop. I remember when it rained for 
three days, near Verona, while I was riding 
with a party through Italy, but in spite of the 
rain that mouldy old city furnished such an 
array of attractions that we wouldn't have 
much cared if another flood had come along. 
Moreover, nearly everywhere in Europe the 
roads are so constructed that they dry very 

25 



quickly, and one can proceed on one's way al- 
most immediately after the rain has stopped. 

When you do take a train with your bicycle 
it is well always to remember the porter liber- 
ally, bearing in mind that liberality means from 
six to ten cents, and he will handle your wheel 
more carefully than he otherwise would. And, 
in case you have time, it is well to supervise 
the operation of putting it in the baggage car 
yourself. There are no "checks" for baggage 
in Europe, but you can register it at a small 
expense and the register amounts to much the 
same thing. 

I presume that I needn't tell anyone that it 
would be the height of folly to attempt a Euro- 
pean tour without a brake; they are useful, 
particularly in cities like Paris, where one 
finds the most careless drivers in the world, to 
aid you in stopping quickly on the crowded 
boulevards as well as on many of the hills in 
the neighborhood of Paris, to say nothing of 
being absolutely necessary when touring in 
Switzerland. Taking a coast down a mountain 
of say some forty miles with nothing but your 
shoe for a brake would doubtless prove very 
bad for the shoe — but probably if you made 
such an attempt with no other precaution pro- 
vided you would find yourself where you 
wouldn't have any need for shoes or bicycles 
either. Some cyclists say that they have been 
greatly aided in descending steep and long de- 
clivities by attaching a fir tree to their saddle 
26 



by means of a rope eight or ten feet long. I 
never saw this tried, but I have seen two deli- 
cate women ride down the Grimsel and the 
Simplon Passes with no other aid in holding 
back their machines than that which they were 
able to get from back pedalling and the judi- 
cious use of the brake. One source of much 
trouble to cyclists in Europe, particularly in the 
rural districts are the hob nails which drop 
out of the peasants' shoes. These nails always 
insist on standing on their heads, and being 
sharp and oftentimes two inches long, they 
have no difficulty in giving a pneumatic tire 
nervous prostration. 

To lessen the chances of picking up tacks or 
even bits of glass, some French riders use a 
very simple little device. They attach a little 
wire across the fork where the wheel turns 
about a sixteenth of an inch from the tire. 
Their argument is that the tack does not punc- 
ture the rubber when the wheel first touches it, 
but merely picks it up so that on the first half 
revolution of the wheel after it has touched a 
tack or bit of glass, the object comes against 
this wire and is knocked off the tire before it 
touches the ground again. Those who have 
tried this device say they have never had a 
puncture since they fastened the wire just 
above both wheels. It certainly will cost no 
wheelman anything to try it. 



27 




CHAPTER III. 



From Havre to Paris. 

ET us now suppose that you have 
arrived at Havre or some other 
point on that part of the French 
coast, and have gotten by the cus- 
tom house officials, either with 
your French Touring card, or that of the Eng- 
lish organization, or, lacking either of these, 
have paid duty, or have persuaded the inspector 
that you are a bona fide tourist, with the re- 
sult that you are not obliged to make the usual 
deposit. 

Once off the steamer, the first impulse of the 
eager cyclist is to mount his wheel, and having 
seen that his cyclometer is in order, set off 
for Paris. I should, however, hardly advise all 
tourists, unless limited to a very brief stay in 
France, to do this. At the moment, you very 
likely find yourself unprovided with the proper 
maps, and immediately after the voyage you are 
not in a condition to get the full enjoyment out 
of the bicycle or anything else. On the other 
hand, Paris is only five hours away by rail and 
28 



the ticket costs less than $5. Still, if you want 
to ride through one of the prettiest parts of the 
country, and can let Paris wait, there is noth- 
ing to prevent your setting out on your journey 
at once. It is an easy matter to ship your bag- 
gage by train to the Gare St. Lazare at Paris, 
where you will find it awaiting your arrival in 
the Consigne, and there you will have to open 
it for the Octroi or City Customs officials. Bag- 
gage in Europe doesn't go free as it does in 
this country, even if you accompany it your- 
self. Sixty pounds is the limit one is allowed 
in Europe on a single ticket, and where one 
sends baggage ahead, there is no reasonable 
system of transportation similar to our express 
companies in America. For instance, one can 
send a trunk from Boston to New York for 
forty-five cents. But for the same distance in 
Europe you would pay six or seven cents a 
pound on the grande vitesse or express train. 
If you send the baggage by the petite vitesse, 
or freight train, from almost any given point in 
Europe to another, it costs about half as much 
as by the express, but you must count on a 
wait anywhere from a week to ten days for a 
distance say of three hundred miles. 

The writer recalls, in his own case, that 
on leaving Milan, Italy, for Nice by the way of 
Genoa and Ventimiglia he sent his trunks, 
weighing sixty pounds, to Nice with the stipu- 
lation that they should be put on the express 
train only. The charge amounted to more than 
29 



$5 and riding to Nice on his bicycle he got 
there two days ahead of his trunks. Therefore 
it is apparent that one wants to get along with 
xs littie baggage as possible. In fact, the ordi- 
nary mistake that one makes in setting out on 
such a trip is to take too much. It Is astonish- 
ing how much one can take on the bicycle, and 
the expense of sending on your baggage is 
greatly lessened if you carry enough on your 
wheel so as to be obliged to connect with your 
trunks only about once in ten days. All the 
necessities of the toilet, reading and writing 
materials, changes of underclothing and a rub- 
ber cape can be carried on the frame of your 
bicycle without materially increasing the dif- 
ficulty of its propulsion, if the weight is care- 
fully distributed. 

Personally, I have never had the patience, 
after arriving on French soil, to submit to the 
delay of getting to the most seductive city on 
earth except by the most rapid means of loco- 
motion which presented itself. I have made 
tours in Normandy and Brittany, but have al- 
ways taken Paris as the basis of operations. 

However, for the benefit of those who, after 
landing, decide to go to Paris on their wheels, 
I append the following bits of a description of 
such a trip from the pen of Arthur K. Peck, 
who took it himself in the summer of 1897, 
xnd embodied his impressions in one of a series 
of letters to the Boston Sunday Herald. Mr. 
Peck says: 

30 



My journey awheel commenced at the Port 
of Havre, France, and my first day's journey 
was inward througn a pleasing section of Nor- 
mandy. Packed in the little case in the frame 
of my machine, and strapped on the carrier of 
the handle bar was all my luggage, which in- 
cluded a rubber suit for protection from the 
rain, various duplicate parts of a wheel for use 
in case of a breakage, and a repair kit and tools 
for tire mending in case of puncture. Across 
my back I slung a small camera, with the ex- 
pectation of bringing back to America with me 
wayside photographs, stray shots of pictur- 
esque little nooks, odd scenes, the people, their 
homes — views which are not to be purchased. 

Before starting, I made a most minute inspec- 
tion of all parts of my bicycle, trying every 
bolt and adjustment, for, while it is true that 
the prominent American manufacturers have 
agents in foreign cities, and they are supposed 
to be well supplied with duplicate parts, not 
infrequently they are "just out of that particu- 
lar part." It behooves one, therefore, to exer- 
cise a close guardianship over one's bicycle 
from the moment of arrival in Europe. 

Havre, according to the guide book, has little 
to interest the traveler, and so, after a short 
ramble about the city, I wheeled along toward 
Graville, a small suburb of Havre, and one of 
the chain of towns through which I must pass 
en route to Rouen. 

Continuing my journey, I soon found myself 

31 



on a fine stretch of road, which brought me into 
the agricultural district, with its green pastures 
and verdant hills. Here whole fields of grain 
were dotted with bright flowers of variegated 
hues. The abundance of wild flowers to be seer 
at certain stages of the journey added much 
to the picturesqueness of the scenes. I passed 
through the dead little seaport town of Hon- 
fleur, distinguished from the fact that about six 
centuries ago Henry V. of England took it and 
later some of his successors returned it. Havre 
has long since taken away its trade as a sea- 
port. 

Ten miles out I made my first inquiry, asking 
three natives of St. Romain the way to the 
next town, La Remuee. Not one of them 
seemed to know. My persistency was reward- 
ed, however, when I asked the route to Lille- 
bonne, which one of them seemed to know, 
though it was twelve miles away. 

There was a most exhilarating coast of a 
mile or more down into this town. On one of 
the surrounding heights could be seen looming 
up above the trees the gray tower of the ruined 
castle where William the Conqueror, one thou- 
sand years ago, extended a cordial invitation 
to the nobles to visit old England and increase 
their real estate holdings, which invitation we 
are advised on good authority was accepted. 

As I entered the town from one side a regi- 
ment of infantry marched in from the other. 
In advance came a French officer scorching in 
32 



on a bicycle. All about the place on the ground 
were little heaps of refreshments of bread, rare 
meat, etc., contributions for the tired men of 
the invading host. I did want to take a picture 
of the scene, but with a discretion born of pre- 
vious experience, and acting under advice writ- 
ten in my little book of "don'ts," saying, "don't 
take pictures of anything military and thus 
avoid unpleasant consequences," I hunted up a 
place to have my noon lunch and had what a 
Frenchman calls his breakfast. 

Continuing on my journey, I tried for a few 
days the experience of travelling without maps, 
but found it unsatisfactory, and the guide post 
system of Brittany not so excellent as that of 
Normandy. I found Brittany quite hilly as a 
whole, more so than Normandy. At times on 
the journey toward Paris I would come to a 
long level plain and would ride for miles on a 
straight, level road, as was the case when en- 
tering Chartres. In one case only did I lose 
my course, and that was due to accepting the 
advice of a peasant seated at a cross road. I 
believe I was directed to Noce instead of No- 
gent. I succeeded, however, after going four 
miles out of the way, in finding the main high- 
way and righted myself. I was in no amiable 
frame of mind at the mishap, particularly as 
the roads were hilly and the weather was hot. 

At Chartres there was a magnificent cathedral 
to see, and then, by a long day's journey, I 
counted on reaching Paris. Eighty miles from 
23 



the capital I saw the first guide post bearing 
the word Paris, and from there on I found my- 
self watching the kilometre posts, and uncon- 
sciously translating into miles each distance 
marked. I passed through the town of Main- 
tenon, and dismounted to view the old chateau 
of Madame de Maintenon. Not far distant I 
reached a little town, which in appearance 
seemed to me to approach the nearest to a de- 
serted village I had ever seen in all my wan- 
derings. As I jogged along over the rough 
stone pavements through the main and only 
street of the town, looking right and left for 
some signs of life, I wondered whether this 
dead town was the Chelsea or Pompeii of 
France. There were no children playing in the 
street, every door was closed, and shutters were 
up at all the windows. Even a store, which 
had over the door the word "Novelties," 
seemed to have given up its business, for the 
shutters there, too, were up. 

During the first few days of my journey in 
Normandy my ideas of the topography of the 
country underwent quite a change. I had ex- 
pected to see a country not unlike Cape Ann 
and the North shore, and to encounter a suc- 
cession of steep hills. Instead, I found about 
two steep hills a day, and long, level stretches 
between. The fact that my first day in France, 
heavily laden as the bicycle was with my bag- 
gage, I had covered sixty-two miles, from 
Havre to Rouen; had seen the points of interest 
34 



and made a side trip to the ruins of an old 
abbey of the seventh century at Jumieges, 
shows quite clearly the topographical condi- 
tions. As for the roads, no adjective is good 
enough to describe their excellence. It is no 
exaggeration to compare them to our park 
roads in quality, though not of course, posses- 
sing the great breadth. 

Though following the Seine, generally speak- 
ing, I caught only an occasional glimpse of the 
river, once at the quaint old town of Caudebec, 
again at Jumieges, where the banks of the river 
suggest portions of the Hudson, and at Du- 
claire. 

The clocks were striking six when I caught 
my first glimpse of Rouen in the valley below. 
"Dangerous hill, look out," said the signboard 
of the Tourist Club de France, and so with 
brake well in hand, down the hill I coasted and 
dashed into the streets of the city of Rouen. 

I passed through Rambouillet, and saw the 
park and forest. It was here Francis I. died 
at his chateau. As I was proceeding on my 
way I met a young man on his wheel riding in 
the opposite direction to which I was going. 
He turned about and we rode to Paris together. 
He knew some English, and when he could not 
find the exact word necessary he invariably 
fell back on the expression "all right." We 
passed over an extremely hilly district, going 
to Versailles, but the surroundings were beau- 
tiful. I left the palace and the gardens of Ver- 
35 



sailles as a part of my Paris programme, and 
proceeded without delay over the main road to 
St. Cloud, and from there through the Bois de 
Boulogne to Paris. 

It is of course an essential feature, and in 
fact a necessity, in touring that the cycler be 
well equipped with the best of maps. The geo- 
graphical knowledge of the peasant is quite 
elementary, and generally speaking, the most 
distant point with which he has any acquaint- 
ance is the adjoining village. Under such cir- 
cumstances, unless the tourist has familiarized 
himself with the names of intervening towns, 
all his queries will be to the villagers as com- 
plex conundrums. 

The foreign maps are works of art and ency- 
clopedias of information. Aside from the maps 
for military purposes, there are special maps 
for cycling equally as elaborate, showing the 
great highways, and distinguishing them from 
the ordinary routes, giving the distances in 
kilometres, between towns, and in the moun- 
tainous regions the elevations and distinctive 
signs mark the location of places of interest — 
chateaux, ruins, convents, glaciers, beautiful 
points of view, etc. 

Supplementary to the accessories of travel 
above mentioned, the standard guide books en- 
able one to get a very comprehensive knowl- 
edge of the interesting places to be seen in 
every town and of the towns themselves. 

In reviewing the trip, I can speak only in the 
36 



highest terms of the treatment received at the 
places where I stopped. Everywhere I received 
the most courteous acquiescence to my requests 
to be directed on my journey. I found the food 
excellent and the roads perfection. The scenery 
at times was charming, at times beautiful and 
picturesque. I had slept in country inns, and 
listened to the church bell chimes of Normandy 
ringing out the quarter hour, or perhaps the 
curfew note — bells whose very tone told of old 
age, and churches whose moss-covered, gray 
walls had been standing for centuries. I had 
wandered through ruined abbeys, castles and 
palaces. I entered towns bristling with fortifi- 
cations, the scenes of wars and siege and battle 
with English monarchs. I saw the home and 
final resting place of the Norman ruler who 
made whole chapters of early English history 
a record of his triumphs. 

Such are the pleasant experiences Mr. Peck 
■-•ecords of the ride from Havre to Paris. 



CHAPTER IV. 



"In Gay Paree." 




HETHER it was done by rail, or 
whether you rode in on your 
wheel, I am going to take it for 
granted that you made the journey 
from where you left your steamer 
and arrived in Paris with all the cyclist's ca- 
pacity of enjoyment of the material things of 
this life. Whether you send your baggage 
ahead, or whether it comes on the train with 
you, you will experience very little trouble with 
the Octroi authorities at the Gare St. Lazare. 
The chances are they will make only a very 
cursory examination, but it is well to be care- 
ful not to have any matches, tobacco or wine 
with you. 

Of course, on arriving in the city for which 
Napoleon the Little did so much in spite of the 
ill he wrought for the rest of France, the ques- 
tion of where to go is the most important one 
that confronts you. On this subject I can only 
say that Paris, perhaps more than any other 
place in the world, can furnish hotels of any 



kind suited to the purse of any one. It is at once 
the dearest and cheapest city of modern times. 
If you have no friends in Paris and have made 
no previous arrangement, any hotel will do for 
the first twenty-four hours. The largest and 
best known for such a transient stay are the 
Grand, the Terminus and the Continental. 
They all have the advantage of being easily 
pronounced, too. I know an American who pre- 
fers the Hotel de France et Choiseul to any 
hotel in Paris, but he can't stay there, because 
he can't pronounce the name when he wants to 
take a cab. The Chatham in the Rue d' Aunou 
and the St. Petersburg in the Rue Caumartin 
are also central, and in fact there are myriads 
of hotels that one can go to for a short stay 
while getting settled. In any of these hotels 
two persons can have a good room from $2 to 
$2.50 a day which includes electric lights and 
service, and you are free to take your meals 
where you like. You will find excellent English 
and American cooking and English spoken at 
'Fred's" in the Rue Caumartin, near the corner 
of the Rue Auber, and at Pulaski's at No. 404 
Rue St. Honore. Pulaski also imports Ameri- 
can oysters. As for table d'hote at prices rang- 
ing from thirty, fifty and sixty cents up to a 
dollar, their name is legion. I insert the menu 
of one of them in order to give you an idea of 
what these places furnish, though I believe the 
particular restaurant mentioned here exists no 
longer. 



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These places are all well lighted and served 
by waiters in evening dress. The largest one 
at present where a menu of astonishing variety 
is given, is in the Place de la Trinite at the 
corner of la Rue Blanche. Here the dinner with 
wine is only thirty cents if you are looking for 
that sort of thing. The Place de la Trinite is 
directly back of the Opera, and is reached by 
passing through the Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin. 
For breakfast one of the Duval establishments 
will be found very satisfactory, as the menu is 
varied and the prices are cheap, though the 
portions are small. Anyone will direct you to 
the Duval establishment nearest to the place 
where you happen to be staying. I give here a 
Duval menu which will give you an idea of the 
variety and the prices, and it may also prove 
both amusing and profitable for the reader who 
is not over conversant with the French to get 
out his dictionary and see if he can puzzle out 
a breakfast order. 

In summer the table d'hotes in the Champs 
Elysees, along the Avenue de la Grande Armee 
and at the Touring Club and the Chalet du 
Cycle in the Bois du Boulogne are always at 
tractive, being enlivened by music and rendered 
dazzling by myriads of multi-colored lights. 

However, if economy is the order of the day, 
the morning after your arrival you will do well 
to invest three cents in a copy of the European 
edition of the New York Herald, in the columns 
of which you will find plenty of advertisers who 
41 



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prices are marked in centimes , five centimes making a cent. 



take boarders at from five to seven francs a 
day, and even less by the month. That is to 
say, $1.40 a day will cover all your living ex- 
penses. If you are going to make a protracted 
stay in Paris, suitable rooms can be had on 
either side of the Seine for from forty francs, 
or $8 a month up. You will have little trouble 
in Paris in keeping your bicycle near you, and 
when you are on the street, the nearer you keep 
it to you the better. Most of the hotels have 
some arrangement for bicycles, and if you are 
in a private family or have rooms high up any- 
where you will never find any difficulty in lo- 
cating a man in the vicinity who makes a busi- 
ness of taking care of your wheel for six cents 
a day or $2 a month. When I lived in a hotel 
where there was no place downstairs for keep- 
ing a wheel, I found the valet de chambre only 
too willing to take my wheel up to my room. 
For taking two wheels up and bringing them 
clown again he was amply repaid with ten cents, 
which made it a good deal cheaper than leaving 
a wheel en garage, as the French call it, outside. 
The advantage of this system is that you only 
pay for your wheel days when you use it in- 
stead of every day when you leave it en garage, 
and you also have it where you can look after 
it yourself if you care to. 

In riding in Paris you must be careful to 
light your lamps or carry a Chinese lantern in 
your hand as darkness comes on; also have a 
clear-voiced bell, which the police edict says must 
be loud enough to be heard at least fifty yards. 
43 



If you get caught after dark without a lamp 
you can get a Chinese lantern at either a gro- 
cery store or a cigar store. A cigar store is in- 
dicated by a red light, and it is here also that 
you have to buy your stamps. If you can't 
find a cigar store or Bureau de Tabac, just ask 
anybody for the nearest epicerie. Don't be 
alarmed, it is only a grocery store. The lan- 
terns are called lampions, and the price, to- 
gether with the candle, varies from four to six 
cents, and depends generally on the dimensions 
of your accent. 

If you are going to make a business of riding 
while you are in Paris, it is well to live in the 
Champs Elysees quarter, or on the Avenue de 
la Grande Armee itself; but if ycu do live down- 
town, in going to the Bois you will find it bet- 
ter to go up the Boulevard Haussmann or up 
the Champs Elysees. There is a car track, but 
less traffic on the Boulevard Haussmann and 
the wooden pavement furnishes excellent wheel- 
ing. But if you do decide to go up the Champs 
Elysees, don't follow the Boulevard de Ca- 
pucines to the Rue Royale, but turn off to your 
left at the Rue Cambon, which has an asphalted 
pavement, and where there are very few car- 
riages. 

The Rue Cambon will take you to the Rue do 
Rivoli, where it is only a step to the Place de 
la Concorde, and then there is a straight-away 
ride up to the Arc de Triomphe. The other side 
of the Place de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Avenue la 
44 



Grande Armee begins with its special path re- 
served for cyclists. At the foot of this path is 
the well-known Cafe des Sports. In stopping at 
these cafes, never leave your wheel against the 
curb or any neighboring tree. This is against 
the police regulations, and is also dangerous, 
as you are apt to lose your wheel if you take 
your eyes off of it for a moment. But at all 
cafes, nowadays, accommodations are furnished 
for cyclists; but never give your wheel up to 
the commissaire without getting a ticket. An 
Englishman gave his wheel to the commissaire 
of the Criterion Cafe, in front of the Hotel Ter- 
minus, while he went in for dinner, and when 
he came out the wheel was gone. The proprie- 
tor refused to be responsible on the ground that 
the gentleman had not taken a ticket from his 
employe. In most of the cafes in the Bois, and 
nearly everywhere you ride, you will find Pos- 
tes de Secours, where the injured can be looked 
after without delay. At many cafes are work- 
men with kits of tools sufficiently complete to 
mend anything except the ways of their pa- 
trons. Nearly all these cafes have orchestras, 
and one can pass an hour or even more most 
entertainingly in watching the ever-changing 
stream of cycling humanity as it ebbs in and 
out with everything new and odd in the way of 
costumes that one can imagine, and some that 
one never would have imagined. 

In Paris, a Frenchman always regards any 
woman who rides a bicycle in a skirt either as 




"HOW ARK YOU, YANKEE? 



an American or as an English girl, and she Is 
apt to be greeted, as she flits by, with such ex- 
pressions as "Oh, yes," "I speak English," 
"You are a jolie mees," and if he can't go as 
far as that, he is quite certain to greet you with 
"All right." It is a fact, however, that some 
French women prefer a skirt to the oftentimes 
hideous bloomers. Once, when I was coming 
back with a party through the Bois, one of the 
riders, who happened to be a most demure 
young French woman, was accosted by an im- 
possible young French person of the chemical 
blonde type with "How are you, Yankee?" The 
lady addressed was unable to resist making a 
few comments in her native tongue, and she 
of the culotte was so astonished to find out that 
she of the skirt was a compatriot that she 
promptly fell off her wheel — much to the amuse- 
ment of the crowd who had been watching her 
antics. 



47 




CHAPTER V. 



Encore "Paree." 

SIDE from the idiot who will call out 
to you, "Yes, mees," and "All right," 
just because he wants to air his Eng- 
lish, there is another pest who occa- 
sionally annoys ladies riding alone, 
no matter how carefully they have tried to choose 
an hour for their outing, when the Bois ought 
to be tolerably unfrequented. Still, this indi- 
vidual is more obnoxious than dangerous. The 
French "masher" will ogle and will sometimes 
say a few things that will make an English or 
an American girl wish she were a man for a 
few moments, but that's as far as he will go. 
From what I have seen of the type, I think he 
is more to be despised than feared, and should 
say that any self-respecting woman can ride in 
Paris without being subjected to a greater 
chance of annoyance than she would be at home. 
Naturally, she will ignore any remarks ad- 
dressed to her directly and affect the role of a 
deaf mute when things are said not directly at 
48 



her, but meant for her all the same. Then 
again, she should not be disturbed at any 
"oddities" of costume. There is a censor who 
supervises such things in Paris and the police 
carry out his orders carefully. She may see 
things that will be so out of joint with her ideas 
of the beautiful as to cause an involuntary gasp 
and an exclamation, "Oh, how horrid!" "How 
can she!" but nothing more. For instance, "la 
culotte" (bloomers or tights would be our Eng- 
lish word for it, depending on the cut of the 
particular culotte in question) isn't really 
shocking. Any old ballet girl in America pre- 
sents herself in public in a costume which 
wouldn't be permitted even to a Parisian cyclist, 
without keeping an American girl away from 
the theatre. Still, you will see things of strange 
and uncanny character. For instance, some of 
the French young women who cycle have con- 
ceived the idea that it is the proper thing to 
wear socks. I say socks advisedly, for that is 
exactly what they are. They are cut like those 
of the male biped, only more on the Harlem flat 
plan; that is to say, they are smaller. They 
come up a little above the tops of the high laced 
shoe worn by the French rider and leave the 
rest of her leg bare to the knee. All classes of 
society in France wear the culotte, but those 
who ride the bicycle bare legged, it is fair to 
say, are not received at the Elysee. 

Of these young women, let it be said to their 
credit — and it's very difficult for them to get 
49 




MEMBERS OF THE BARE-PEGGED CONTINGENT. 



credit — that they never say anything which 
their foreign or more proper sisters cannot 
hear, nor do they insult them by word or look. 
Of course, the visitor may hear things that may 
be a little outre, but one will have to live so 
long in Paris to understand their "argot" or 
slang that one would be so old that it wouldn't 
make much difference what anybody said. 

Besides the individual of the "masher" 
type, there used to be another character 
who did business in the Bois. The last I 
knew the police were looking out for him 
and he may exist no more, but this is the 
adventure that one American girl had with 
him: She had taken an early morning ride 
through the Bois and was returning through a 
path reserved for cyclists when a respectable 
looking man bowed to her politely and apolo- 
getically informed her that her tire was de- 
flated. She looked down at her hind tire and 
saw that it was. The man, who was in cycling 
costume, politely offered to blow it up for her. 
Of course she very naturally suspected nothing, 
and when the man had finished pumping in the 
air he put on the cap, and rising to his feet, 
said: "I think that'll do, I'll just see." Where- 
upon he jumped lightly into the saddle and rode 
off, and it may be added that he hasn't got back 
yet. 

The wheel was a new Columbia which the 
young woman had just got from home, and as 
she was quite as tall as the man it suited him 
51 



perfectly. It was afterwards explained to her 
that this man makes a business of this particu- 
lar thing. He waits patiently till he sees a 
woman or a young person with a tire that needs 
blowing up, and then addresses them as he did 
in this case. What the American girl said at 
the moment doesn't appear, but she was obliged 
to take a carriage home after reporting her case 
to the nearest Poste de Police. She did say af- 
terwards that what made her maddest about it 
all was the provoking way in which the man 
looked back at her over his shoulder and called 
out with a winning smile, "Oui, c'est bien 
gonfle." "He had no need to tell me that it 
was well blown up," she said, "I could see that 
for myself." 

At the restaurant of the Touring Club, or 
Grossetetes, at the entrance of the Bois as one 
enters it from the foot of the Avenue de la 
Grande Armee, one always finds a crowd from 
noon until midnight during the cycling season. 
There is also the music of an orchestra as 
well as that of women's voices and popping 
corks. An excellent table d'hote dinner is 
served here with wine and coffee for four francs 
or eighty cents. 

Not much further along, on the way to the 
Gate of Suresne, you will notice on your left the 
sign d'Harmenonville; here you will see the 
swell women of the half world, the Emilie 
d'Alencons and Liane de Pougys of Paris. Of 
course, at home the cyclists would not even ad- 



mit the existence of such persons, but in 
Paris, where they are included by all the news- 
papers in "those present" at the first nights of 
all the theatres, alongside of the names of 
society women, it is just as well to admit that 
they are very much in evidence in this gay 
capital. 



a „.ifi^wa;k 





" OUI C EST BIEN GONFI.E. 

Then on to the Chalet du Cycle, past the club 
grounds where young Parisians of sporting 
taste play tennis and polo, to the Gate at Su- 
resne, where the chalet will be found just to the 
left. If one goes through the gate and across 
53 



the bridge one finds oneself on the most direct 
route to St. Germain and Versailles. But let us 
stop at the chalet. There one can see more 
queer scenes illustrative of the Parisian bicycle 
world in an hour than in any other one given 
spot. 

As elsewhere, the orchestra plays incessantly, 
only pausing long enough for one of its mem- 
bers to pass the hat from time to time. There 
is no table d'hote at this resort, but an excellent 
dinner a la carte is served in little tents in the 
garden or in the casino itself, if one prefers. 
This is perhaps the most popular resort for 
bicyclists in the neighborhood of Pairs, and 
on the last Grand Prix Day the man in charge 
of the garage told me that he gave out checks 
for 12,000 bicycles checked there by patrons 
who had stopped to get a drink and look at 
one another. 

This seems an enormous number of bicycles 
for one cafe to look after in one day, but when 
you consider that there was a rushing business 
from early morning till midnight and bicycles 
are even hung up in the trees to get them out 
of the way, it may be that the number left there 
was not exaggerated. One thing that will strike 
the Americans here, as in other resorts, will be 
the large number of automobiles of all sorts 
and descriptions which will come through the 
gates without causing the bicyclists any trepi- 
dation. In fact, so many of these are used in 
Paris that in places like the Chalet du Cycle 

54 



there is a place set apart for them. If possible, 
get a seat immediately in front of the gate, 
where you will have a good chance to size up 
the eccentric costumes which are sure to pre- 
sent themselves in a never changing array; 
some are attractive and some are not; some 
risque to a degree, while others, by their very 
demureness, serve the wearer's purpose best; 
in fact, one sees exactly what one might ex- 
pect to see in a country where the bride and 
groom sometimes go to the church for the wed- 
ding ceremony on a tandem, the groom in even- 
ing dress and the bride in the conventional 
gown of wnite satin, though cut a trifle shorter 
than usual and all the wedding party also 
mounted on wheels. 

It is well to realize, too, that if you find your- 
selves interested observers of the French, they 
are equally critical of the foreigners, and for 
that reason it is always as well to make oneself 
as little conspicuous as possible. I remember 
noticing one day a party of Americans who 
were evidently in charge of a young woman 
who felt her responsibilities very much because 
she spoke a little French. She caused all the 
French people present a great deal of amuse- 
ment, and her compatriots, who happened to 
notice the incident, a great deal of embarrass- 
ment, by the way in which she insisted, in very 
bad French, that the waiter should take away 
two syphons of seltzer, declaring that he was 
trying to cheat her, as the one that tney had 
55 



already was quite enough. As no charge is 
made for seltzer at such cafes, and a sign, "Eau 
de Seltz, gratuite," was displayed prominently 
on most all the trees, the assertiveness of the 
young woman was all the more ridiculous. It 
was simply another one of these cases where a 
little knowledge is a dangerous thing. 

After you have become familiar with the Bois 
and are looking for change of scene, perhaps 
it will occur to you to ride over to the Latin 
Quarter for a brief visit to the Cafe d'Harcourt 
and other similar cafes made famous by the 
student patronage which they all depend on 
so largely. Of course, if you want to witness 
this scene in full action, you want to go in the 
evening. It is only necessary to cross the Seine 
by the bridge at the Place de la Concorde and 
ride up the Boulevard St. Germain to the "Boule- 
Miche," as the Boulevard St. Michel is com- 
monly called. There you will see revelry by 
night and know that you are in the Latin Quar- 
ter without asking any one. 

Opinions of Paris vary. I cite one here from 
the pen of a fair contributor to the Ladies' 
Home Journal: 

"For a month I have been in this city of lim- 
ited republicanism; this extraordinary example 
of outward beauty and inward uncleanness; this 
bewildering cosmopolis of cheap luxuries and 
expensive necessities; this curious city of con- 
tradictions, where you might eat your break- 
fast from the streets — they are so clean — but 
56 




ON THE " BOUIvE MICHE. 



where you must close your eyes to the specta- 
cles of the curbstones; this beautiful whited 
sepulchre, where exists the unwritten law, 
'Commit any offense you will, provided you sub- 
merge it in poetry and flowers;' this exponent 
of outward observances, where a gentleman will 
deliberately push you into the street if he 
wishes to pass you in a crowd, but where his 
action is condoned by his inexpressible manner 
of raising his hat to you, and the heartfelt sin- 
cerity of his apology; where one man will run 
a mile to restore a lost franc, but if you ask 
him to change a gold piece he will steal five; 
where your eyes are ravished with the beauty, 
and the greenness, and the smoothness and ap- 
parent ease of living of all its inhabitants; 
where your mind is filled with the pictures, the 
music, the art, the general atmosphere of cul- 
ture and wit; where the cooking is so good, 
but so elusive, and where the shops are so be- 
witching that you have spent your last dollar 
without thinking, and you are obliged to cable 
for a new letter of credit from home before 
you know it — this is Paris." 

The young woman who penned those lines 
may eat her breakfast off the Paris streets if 
she wants to; I should hate to undertake the 
contract. In fact, the stories so often told to 
the effect that a man who throws down a piece 
of paper, even, in the streets of Paris is at once 
arrested, and the other narratives as to the 
fabulous cleanliness of Parisian thoroughfares 
58 



are simply fairy tales. Still, the system of hav- 
ing the streets washed down by hose attached 
to hydrants at frequent intervals is an excellent 
one and might be imitated to advantage in 
many American cities. 

As for learning French, each person must go 
about it in his or her own way. Dictionaries 
and phrase books will prove most useful, though 
the reader will do well to avoid those compiled 
by foreigners, who are apt to give you this sort 
of thing: 



Que desire monsieur 
le matin; the cafe au 
lait, chocolat ? 

Vous m'apporterez le 
cafe au lait tous les 
matins a huit heures. 

C'est entendu mon- 
sieur. 



uxe coxxaisaxci:. 



Monsieur est etran- 
ger? Oui, monsieur, je 
suis Anglais. 

J 'en suis charm e car 
je tienstous les Anglais 
en graade estime. 

Je vous remercie pour 
eux. 

C'est la premiere fois 
que vous venez a Paris? 



What do you take in 
the morning sir; tea, 
coffee with mi Ike or 
chocolate? 

Bring me coffee witch 
milk every morning at 
eight o'clock. 

Very well sir. 



AN ACQUOUAIXTAXCE 



Are you o foreigner 
sir? Yes, sir, I am 
english. 

I am so pleased, be- 
cause I hold all English 
people in high esteem. 



I thank you in their 
name. 

It is the first time 
you come to Paris 



Ouate dou ze taike 
ine ze morninnque seur: 
ti, com ouise milke or 
tchoholete. 

Brinngue mi coffli 
ouise milke everi mor- 
ninngue, it etc o'clock. 

Very ouel, seur. 



ANEAQTTOUAINTANECE 

Are you e foiineur, 
seur? Yes, seuer, a'i 
inetdiohe. 

Ai ame so slisde, bi- 
cause a'i holde oil ineg- 
liche pepule ine a'i es- 
time. 

A'i sannekiou ine sieur 
neme. 

Isite ze feurste taime. 
you come ton Pariss. 



LA CORKESPOXDANCE 

Donnez moi du papiere 
a lettre, des enveloppes, 

une plume, un porte- 

plume, 

de l'encre, un crayon. 

une carte postale de 

dix>entimes, 

un timbre de trois sous, 

un timbre de vingt cinq 

centimes, 

de la cire a cacheter. uu 

cachet pour une lettre 

chargee. 



OKKK.SPOXDAXCE ZE CORRESPONDENCE 

e letter Guive me some let- 
paper, some envelops, teur papeur, some en- 
velops, 

e pene, e penc ha ne- 
deule, 

innke, penecile, 
4 poste carde oye 
oueune peni for ze citi 
post, 

^ tri hafe peni stamp. 
c tou peni hafe peni 
stam, 

silinngue ouaxe, 
e sile for registeurde 
litteur. 



a pen, a pen handle, 

ink, pencil, 

a nost-carde of one pen- 
ny, fort the city post, 

three half penny stamp 

a two penny half penny 

stamp, 

sealing wax, 

a seal for a registered 

letter. 

59 



MAGASIN ])K CONFEC- 
TIONS. 

Bonjour, monsieur, 
que desirez-vous ? 

Je voudrais avoir une 
veste, un pantalon et 
un gilet de bonne quali- 
ty. 

Nous avons preeise- 
ment un grand choix 
en ce moment. 

Tenez, void quelque 
chose de bres bon et pas 
cher. 

Combien cela vaut- 
il? 



THE REA])V CLOTHING 
HOUSE. 

Good morning, sir, 
what do you desire? 

I wan a west, trou- 
sers and waistcoat in 
good marerial. 

We have just now a 
large selection. 

Here is something 
very good and not 
dear. 

How much is that 
worth ? 



ZE EEDY CEOZIXNGUE 
HOUSE. 

Goud morningue seur 
oute dou you disa'ire ? 

AT ouante e" vaiste, e" 
traouseurs annde oues- 
code in goude materi- 
ale. 

Oui have djeuste nap 
e large sel^cheune. 

Here ise somessinngue 
veri goude annde note 
dire. 

Haouv meutche ise 
sale oueurste ? 



These examples I have taken at random from 
a phrase book picked up in Paris and which 
many unfortunate Frenchmen use to aid them 
in acquiring tne English language. 

One thing is certain, and that is that the best 
way to learn to speak a language is to speak it. 
You'll never learn if you are afraid to try to 
talk. Put yourself as often as possible in places 
where you've got to talk or get arrested, and 
never have any false shame or pride about your 
mistakes. Remember that if your French is 
broken and your accent as strong as Sandow, 
the other fellow can't speak English at all. 

As to finding your way around Paris and its 
environs it is too easy. Maps are plentiful and 
accurate and not dear. One little book, such 
as the gendarmes and the cab drivers provide 
themselves with, will prove most useful; it is 
a street directory of Paris and can be carried in 
your waistcoat pocket. It tells you where each 
street begins and where it ends. If you can't 
get it at Brentano's, 39 Avenue de l'Opera, Pitt 
& Scott, 9 Rue Scribe will get it for you. As to 
what you want to see in Paris, either on your 
60 



bicycle or otherwise, I have nothing to do. 
Follow your own tastes and any guide book will 
do the rest. However, for the sake of the 
ladies, and in no way in the shape of a paid ad- 
vertisement, I can give them without reserva- 
tion the address of Madame Herauld, 31 Rue de 
Douai, Paris, a dressmaker whose work equals 
that of the Rue de la Paix artists and costs 
about half as much. Up to date, so far as I 
know, the clientele is nearly entirely French, 
which may account for her low prices. It may 
be well to explain to her that you are cycling, 
and have seen this notice here. I cannot prom- 
ise the usual 10 per cent, reduction for cyclists, 
but I can say that they can go to her with the 
assurance that she hasn't one set of prices for 
her French and another for her American cus- 
tomers. 



6J 




CHAPTER VI. 



On An Outing> 

ET us assume that you have had 
enough of Paris, and we'll now 
plan our first extended bicycle trip. 
Still, that is badly put. No one 
ever had enough of Paris, so let us 
say that having no more time to spend there we 
have arranged a ride on our wheels from Paris 
to Venice, taking in the most beautiful part 
of Switzerland and crossing the Alps en ro'ute. 
As we can't very well describe a trip in advance 
that we have not taken, perhaps it will be better 
for us to go over a former trip which I took last 
September with two married friends of mine, 
following the exact itinerary. I did not know 
at the time, and neither did they, that I was 
going to write anything about it, so it seems 
unfair that I should drag them into an un- 
courted notoriety in this connection. 

Let us then call them simply Joe and Lou. 

This much more I will confide to you very 

quietly: Joe is thirty-five years old, and, being 

a doctor, tries to look older. Lou is twenty- 

62 



four, and, being a woman, and not being a 
doctor, she tries to look younger. She is very 
jolly, and the only time I saw her look unhappy 
during the whole trip was in Switzerland; then 
she confided to me that she had been thinking 
what a pity it was that she was a blonde in- 
stead of a brunette. She would have looked so 
much better against a background of snow and 
ice. 

It was September 8 when we left Paris, and 
our friends told us that we were a little late in 
the season for bicycling in Switzerland. We in- 
clined to that opinion ourselves, and as the 
weather was not all that it might be, and as the 
roads within a hundred kilometres of Paris in 
any direction always leave much to be desired, 
we drove to the Gare de Lyon and bought 
tickets to Macon. We took second-class tickets, 
as every one does in France who has more sense 
than money. Our tickets cost 33 francs, or $6.60 
each, and we had the good fortune to have a 
compartment to ourselves. For our bicycles we 
paid two cents. The train left Paris at 2.15 
p. m. It was between 7 and 8 o'clock in the 
evening when we arrived at Dijon, whicn was 
the first place at which we had a chance to get 
anything to eat. The barbarous practice, common 
with us, of standing at a counter while eating, is 
unknown in France, even at a railroad restau- 
rant. There were only twenty minutes for 
refreshments, but the tables were attractively 
spread for a table d'hote dinner, and were 

63 




i.ou. 



variously ticketed three and four francs, or 
sixty and eighty cents, with the wine included. 
We took a four franc table and Lou worried 
dreadfully about it. She said she had a great 
deal too much to eat and wanted to get a re- 
bate, but time wouldn't permit. At 9.40 o'clock 
we arrived at Macon and drove to the Hotel 
de l'Europe, which is about ten minutes from 
the railroad station and on the bank of the 
river Saone. Our wheels were carefully stowed 
on top of the omnibus. We found the hotel ex- 
cellent, and special rates were made for up as 
soon as it was known that we were cyclists and 
members of the Touring Club. Joe and Lou 
paid five francs, or $1, for a great room with 
two beds. I got one two sizes too big for me 
for three francs or sixty cents. Lights and ser- 
vice were included. Two beds generally go 
with all double rooms in French hotels. 

The next morning was so mild and the out- 
look so beautiful that, after crossing the river 
on the first bridge to the right on leaving the 
hotel, we rode to Bourg for breakfast. Bourg 
was thirty Kilometres, or a little more than 
twenty miles, from Macon. We started late, 
and when we were ready to leave Bourg it was 
already about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. But 
with the exhilaration of the wheel strong within 
us, we were not yet satisfied and decided to keep 
on to Pont d'Ain, where we were to spend the 
night in spite of the lowering clouds which 
threatened rain. We hadn't ridden ten kilo- 

65 



metres when it began to rain in good earnest. 
Ordinarily, under such circumstances, there is 
some town which will furnish a temporary 
shelter, or at winch you can even put up for 
tne night if the rain continues; but in this case 
there was nothing between us and our destina- 
tion. As the rain came down faster and faster 
we finally decided to take shelter in a little hut 
with a thatched roof beside of the road. 

Here we were made welcome by the old 
woman in charge, a good type of the French 
peasant, who seemed very much surprised when 
she learned that we came from Paris and did 
not know her daughter Clemence, who was in 
service there. While we were waiting for the 
rain to cease the old woman told us that they 
were all very poor in that neighborhood; they 
lived on bread and pork, with a potato and a 
parsnip or two thrown in now and then as a 
luxury. She said she didn't mind so much in the 
summer, but in bad weather, during the winter, 
she and her husband were kept busy shoveling 
the snow out of the house. 

As the rain continued we decided we had better 
make a move rather than be caught by the dark- 
ness as well as the bad weather. Lou was more 
anxious even than we to move on, and declared 
that she didn't mind a little wetting, so we set 
out, and a ride of about three-quarters of an 
hour brought us to Pont d'Ain, where we went 
to th« Hotel Beau, an unpretentious though ex- 
cellent hostelry. On our arrival we were 



pretty wet and our wheels were sights to be- 
hold, but, as usual in French towns, there was 
a mechanic who makes a specialty of looking 
after bicycles, and we turned them over to his 
mercies. The house was kept by an old lady 
with four daughters. They showed us every at- 
tention, got dry clothes for Lou, and even got a 
hot water bottle for her feet. As no such so- 
licitude was shown on our account, Joe and I 
went out and put a bottle where it would do the 
most good from our point of view. 

The next morning bright and early the bicycle 
man came around with our machines in excel- 
lent order. He charged us a dollar for the 
three. As it still rained, Joe and I played bil- 
liards while Lou wrote letters. If we could 
have been easily discouraged we would have 
lost heart right here at the outset of our trip, 
for it rained steadily two days. But between 
letter writing and playing cribbage and billiards 
we managed to pass the time very agreeably, 
although we were impatient to get on. By the 
way, if you want to play billiards cheaply go 
to Pont d'Ain. They don't charge anything 
there. 

On Saturday, September 11, the weather 
cleared up sufficiently for us to start on our way 
and we rode on to Cermont, by the way of 
Poncin, when it began to rain again, and we 
were driven to the village inn for shelter. We 
took advantage of the opportunity to order 
breakfast, during the course of which we 



learned that our host had been a butler in a 
Chicago family and had traveled all through 
the United States. He confided to us that he 
didn't dare to narrate to his friends in Cermont, 
where he was born, all the luxuries and com- 
forts of travel and other marvelous things tnat 
he had seen in America. He said he was afraid 
if he did he would get the reputation of being 
the star liar of the district. Early in the af- 
ternoon, as the weather nad cleared again, we 
started out on our way to Nantua, about twenty 
kilometres further on. Right here let me ex- 
plain the difference between a kilometre and a 
mile: A kilometre has 1,000 yards, while, as 
every schoolboy knows, it takes 1,760 to make 
a mile. On leaving Cermont one has about six 
or seven kilometres of hill climbing, but it is 
the most beautiful hill climbing that can pos- 
sibly be imagined. As you get up higher and 
higher, and look back at the little village you 
are leaving behind you with its picturesque 
chalets, the rivulets dancing down the mountain 
side, and the fields below where the cattle 
browse, with the ever varying shades of light, 
the effect is marvelous. The road is so cor- 
tuous that when you think you have almost 
come to the end you find yourself at a turn 
which leads you higher and higher, until you 
arrive at a point almost opposite that at which 
you thought you were already nearing the top. 
In fact the scene is so lovely, and one becomes 
so lost in the contemplation of it, that one 

69 



c^SSiPSJ 



£:'. 






doesn't mind the climbing of the hills at all. 
All the way the road is good, and once at the 
top, one is rewarded with a coast down the 
other side and a scene almost as beautiful as 
the panorama on which we had just feasted our 
eyes. After a ride of ten kilometres a beautiful 
land-locked lake, nestling in the valley, comes 
icto view, and at the lower end of this 
there is the town of Nantua. It was nearly 6 
o'clock when we rode through the streets of 
this quaint old town and found excellent quar- 
ters at the Hotel de France. Here we remarked 
that while the rooms were good, they were no 
better than those we had at Pont d'Ain, al- 
though th^y cost twice as much. Still, that 
wasn't so much either, as at Pont d'Ain we only 
paid two francs each for our rooms; Joe and 
Lou paying no more for their double room than 
I paid for my single one, an arrangement which 
obtains very generally in France. 




CHAPTER VII. 



On to Geneva. 

OU met her first annoyance ai Nan- 
tua in the morning when she 
waked up. As usual, she wanted 
cafe au lait served in her room, 
but instead of the dainty little ser- 
vice on a tray, the woman appeared with the 
big coffee pet such as is used down stairs in 
serving the cafe noir, and seemed much sur- 
prised when Lou wanted a little pot of her own. 
"Why," she said, "just think of what a lot of 
small pots we would have to have if we served 
one to each room!" This was only one of many 
instances we found where the more pretentious 
the hotel and the more pompous the demeanor 
of the proprietor the worse the service was. 
When we got outside the weather was very far 
from cheering us. It was still raining. How- 
ever, we borrowed umbrellas and got some fun 
out of strolling round the town, noticing in the 
course of our walk that a theatrical troupe was 
billed to give a performance of the "Courier of 
Lyons" that evening. The theatre was simply 
a great tent pitched in an open space in the 
72 



middle of the town. Inside the tent there was 
a very decent arrangement of seats on a rising 
floor, and the stage was of fair dimensions. 

The idea of going to the theatre under such 
circumstances tickled Lou immensely, and we 
immediately tried to purchase three reserved 
seats for the evening. The woman in charge 
said it- was against the rules to sell seats in 
advance, but good naturedly offered to reserve 
us three of the best, which we could get and pay 
for at night. This done, Lou announced that 
she was going to get her hair shampooed. 
Meantime, Joe and I got shaved oy a barber 
who said he knew America very well himself, 
and who wanted to know what part of Brazil 
we came from. It seems he had passed some 
time in Rio de Janeiro. It is generally the case 
in Europe that the distinction between North 
and South America is very little understood. 
Meantime, while Lou was getting her hair 
dried, Joe and I played billiards, and by this 
time we were ready for breakfast, which was 
very bountiful, and, as usual, included wine. 
The price of the breakfast was three francs, 
which, unlike the general custom, was the same 
price as the dinner. The dinner was also very 
good, though, as in so many other French hotels, 
there was a great deal too much of it. Our 
rooms at this hotel for four francs were fair 
and Joe and Lou paid no more than I did. 

In the evening an agreeable surprise awaited 
us; I have seen very much less meritorious per- 

73 



formances of well known plays given in fair 
sized American cities than that of the "Courier 
of Lyons" as presented by the French troupe in 
that big tent at Nantua. In fact, so good was 
their work, and so strange did it seem to see 
such unusual talent under such odd conditions, 
that when it rained the following day, which 
was Saturday, we didn't know whether to be 
disappointed or to be glad, for it gave us a 
chance to stay longer and see the same company 
give a performance of "La Fille ae Madame An- 
got," which they did with a tunefulness and a 
go simply refreshing. They also numbered in 
their repertoire such pieces as "La Perichole," 
"Le Petit Due" and "Madame Sans Gene," and 
many others equally ambitious. 

That night the company was billed in "Le 
Petit Due," but as it still rained, and as we 
were not particularly pleased with the hotel, in 
spite of the length of its menu, we took a train 
toward 6 o'clock for Bellegarde, some twenty- 
five kilometres further on in our journey. We 
disliked to do this, because the road between 
Nantua and Bellegarde is very good, and from 
what we saw of it from the train the scenery 
must be beautiful. At Bellegarde we went to 
the Hotel des Touristes, which is kept by two 
sisters, who were extremely agreeable. We had 
been advised not to go to this hotel, as the pro- 
prietor of it had been murdered by one of his 
servants about six months before, and this 
fact was supposed to cast a hoodoo over the 

74 



house and all who went there. We consulted 
Lou on the subject, and she said she just 
doted on hoodoos and wouldn't hear of going 
anywhere else. Joe and Lou got an excellent 
room for four francs, while I had good quarters 
for two francs fifty centimes or fifty cents. 

Incidentally, Lou ascertained that the maid of 
all work received for her services the munificent 
sum of $4 per month, and was expected to be 
up shortly after four o'clock in the morning and 
not to go to bed before ten. Lou said she had 
rather ride a bicycle. 

At last, on September 13, the sun consented to 
smile on our little expedition, and we set out 
about eleven o'clock for Chancy, a town on the 
frontier, between France and Switzerland. We 
had decided to take our dejeuner a la fourchette 
at Collonges, a little more than twenty kilo- 
metres away. The ride to this place was delight- 
ful. At first it was up a continuous ascent, some 
of which is too steep to ride comfortably, though 
most of it can be negotiated without effort. In 
fact, Lou could take hills quite as well as we 
could. She said it was because she didn't 
smoke. The road was in excellent condition, 
and as you ride along you get a magnificent 
view of the gorge below, through which flow 
narrow streams of water which sparkle in the 
sunlight, being fed from the mountain brooks 
dancing down the mountain side to our left and 
passing through waterways made for them un- 
der the road along which we were wheeling. 

75 



Far, far below, too, on the further side of the 
gorge, were two railroad tracks, and every now 
and then we could see trains in motion, so far 
away that they seemed to be only crawling 
along, and it was interesting to see them dis- 
appear into some tunnel of great length, often- 
times dug through solid rock, only to appear 
again at the other end, their coming being 
heralded by little puffs of smoke. 

When we got to Collonges we were nearly up 
to the top of our climb. We breakfasted in the 
funniest of little road-side inns, where the na- 
tives must have mighty appetites, judging from 
the supply of viands set before us. As usual, 
the breakfast included wine, and cost us fifty 
cents apiece. After breakfast we were very 
glad to soon find ourselves riding down a hill 
toward Chancy. 

We bowled at great speed, and in wonderful 
spirits, across the bridge at Chancy, when sud- 
denly a man stepped out of a little house, at the 
right of the road, and held up his hands for us 
to stop. We understood in a moment what he 
meant. We were about to cross our first fron- 
tier, and that was his way of telling us to stand 
and deliver. Lou said afterwards that she 
knew she could have ridden by him and he 
could never have touched her. as a matter of 
fact, I have no doubt she could have done so, and 
it would often be possible to cross a frontier in 
this way, but it would never be advisable. If 
one should undertake to do such a thing the of- 

76 



ficial would simply telephone or telegraph to 
other officials along the route which you would 
have to take and you would be sure to be held 
up, and the consequences of your indiscretion 
might be serious. 

As it was we all dismounted, and as we were 
each armed with our cards of identification as 
members of the French Touring Club, we ex- 
pected no trouble whatever. The Swiss Officials 
were very polite, and after having carefully ex- 
amined my card and that of Joe, and having 
compared the name of the maker and the num- 
ber on the card with the name and the number 
on the machine, they pronounced them all rignt 
and said we might proceed. 

Whether Lou had brought along the hoodoo 
from that hotel at Bellegarde or not I cannot 
say, but trouble began at once when she handed 
over her card of identity. The official examined 
it carefully, looked puzzled, smiled a little, and 
then looked at Lou curiously. 

"Guess he thinks I'm smuggling something," 
said Lou, sotto voce, in English. 

We couid not understand what was the 
trouble, for her card was identical with our own. 
Then the official proceeded to explain, pointing- 
out the fact, that while Lou's card was en 
regie in all other respects it lacked the number. 

"But the machine has no number," Joe ex- 
claimed. 

"But it should have," said the Swiss official. 
"I never saw one before that didn't have." 

77 



Now the fact was that Lou had learned to 
ride a bicycle in the Bois de Vincennes, near 
Nogent Vincennes, and had let the man of 
whom she hired the wheel, and who took charge 
of her instruction, build her a bicycle to order, 
from the parts of machines which he had re- 
ceived from England. Not being a bicycle man- 
ufacturer, and never having put together more 
than half a dozen machines in his life, he had 
never bothered about numbering them. 

We explained this to our Swiss friend with 
all the gentleness possible, but he would not 
have it. 

"You gentlemen can go on," he said, "but the 
lady cannot cross this frontier." 

"Do you mean to say that we have got to go 
back to Paris to have the man who made the 
machine put on a number?" we asked. 

"No," he said, "you can have the number put 
on anywhere in France. 

"Will any old number do?" asked Joe. 

"Certainly," said the Cerberus of the Swiss 
frontier. "All you have to do is to take this 
machine somewhere on your side of the fron- 
tier and have it numbered; then come back here 
and the lady can go on with you." 

On inquiry, he informed us that there was a 
blacksmith's shop he thought about two kilo- 
metres back on the way we had come. Seeing 
that there was nothing for it but to comply with 
this seemingly ridiculous requirement, we 
mounted our machines and turned back, al- 
78 



though the sky was growing overcast again. 
Lou never said a word for the first kilometre, 
then turning to us, she ejaculated, "Will you 
two swear for me, please?" We complied with 
pleasure. 

We found the blacksmith's shop without 
trouble, but as often with French workingmen, 
the proprietor was not at work. His wife was 
there, however, along with five or six dirty chil- 
dren. After some difficulty we persuaded the 
woman to crawl into the shop through a win- 
dow and bring out as many sharp pointed tools 
as she could get hold of. With one of these in- 
struments Joe went to work to try to cut a 
number on Lou's machine. He could make lit- 
tle impression on the hard frame with the com- 
paratively dull instrument he had to work with, 
but he finally did succeed in cutting a pretty 
fair imitation of the number 13 on the enamel 
surface of both the front and back part of the 
frame of the machine. 

But this didn't suit Lou. She might dote on 
hoodoos in a general way, but she was not going 
to ride a machine numbered 13. Thereupon Joe 
added another three to the numbers already cut, 
and having tipped the old lady, we all started 
merrily back to Chancy. Lou's machine, which 
had caused so much suspicion when it was un- 
numbered, now passed muster all right with 
those magic symbols 133, and the Swiss official 
sent us on our way rejoicing. Meantime, the 
clouds, which had long been threatening, be- 



gan to drip rain, and when we were still eigh- 
teen kilometres from Geneva, we found our- 
selves caught in a nasty drizzle storm. We had 
begun to think that we were in for another ride 
in the wet, and Lou was remarking on the 
difficulty of keeping her hair in crimp, when 
we saw a tram car by the side of the road. We 
asked the conductor where it went, and to our 
delight learned that it went right into the heart 
of Geneva, and that if we wanted to take it 
there was plenty of room on the front platform 
for our bicycles. 

In an hour we were in Geneva, and as 
the rain had ceased falling, we got on our 
machines and started to ride through the town. 
We did this in accordance with an invariable 
rule which we followed all throuc-i the trip, and 
which, undoubtedly, saved us a great deal of 
money. We would never decide beforehand 
what hotel we would go to before arriving at 
any given place. 



SO 




CHAPTER VIII. 



Adventures in Geneva. 

N THIS way we were able to ride 
around the town and look over the 
various hotels to suit ourselves. 
If we saw one which was not too 
pretentious, and yet appeared to 
be to our liking, we would ride up to it, dis- 
mount, lean our wheels against a convenient 
tree or place them in the racks usually pro- 
vided for bicycles, and then order some re- 
freshments, as if we had not the slightest idea 
of taking rooms there. A little later we would 
ask the waiter casually if they had rooms to let, 
and how the prices ranged. Within a few mo- 
ments that waiter was sure to have the master 
or mistress of the establishment out on the side- 
walk, and it was equally certain that the pro- 
prietor would make us the most alluring terms, 
fearing that we would ride away without in- 
specting the rooms. If the prices were rea- 
sonable, Lou would go in and see if the accom- 
modations were suitable, and there we were, 
settled without any bother or embarrassment or 
haggling about rates. The advantage of this 

81 



mode of procedure is obvious. If you ride up 
to a hotel with the avowed intention of staying 
there, before you have a chance of making any 
arrangements the porters and waiters have 
grabbed your bicycles, unstrapped your baggage, 
and probably stowed away the whole outfit in 
some back room, then feeling already half sure 
of their prey, the patron piles on the price. 
Having gone so far, you feel embarrassed about 
going, and even if you do so, all the employees 
will expect tips for having handled your ma- 
chines. 

In Geneva, of course, there is no lack of 
hotels, and many of them are of high grade 
and not dear from the American standpoint. 
Four dollars a clay would probably cover all 
your expenses at any of them. But we thought 
that we could do better, and events proved that 
we were right. After riding around for an hour 
we came to the conclusion that most of the 
people of Geneva were trying to support them- 
selves by renting rooms. There were signs of 
rooms or apartments to let, of every descrip- 
tion, on all sides and in all parts of the city.. 

At the end of our hour's ride we found our- 
selves very comfortably located in rooms up 
one flight, in a house where furnished rooms 
were to let without board. We never went to 
boarding houses. The rooms were very agree- 
able, and situated near the grounds of the late 
exposition. When we left Macon we had sent 
our trunks by grande vitesse, to meet us at 

82 



Geneva. We had no difficulty whatever in get- 
ting them here. We merely gave the keys to 
a man employed in the house and we had them 
the next morning. We had taken them as far 
as Macon with us because our tickets to that 
place entitled us to that amount of baggage, 
and it was cheaper to express them on from 
there to Geneva than it would have been from 
Paris. The price of the rooms which we en- 
gaged was no higher than that which we had 
been paying. 

Joe and Lou paid four francs for their room, 
and were blessed with the liberal supply of 
three beds. Joe said that Lou put her bicycle 
in the third bed every night, but Lou denied it. 
My room cost me three francs and only had one 
bed. I don't think that was quite fair, but 
didn't say anything, as sixty cents a day isn't 
so very dear for a room one flight up with a 
bed eight feet wide. We were also able to make 
special arrangements by which Lou could get 
tea or coffee and bread and butter in her room 
every morning for one franc. When we asked 
what the weather outlook was we were told 
that it was good, because it had already been 
raining at Geneva for a week. That night we 
dined at the Cafe Lyrique, near the Theatre 
Lyrique. This is an excellent cafe, the por- 
tions being large even from an American point 
of view, and the prices were reasonable. By 
the way, if you drink wine, every one will be 
advising^ you to try a brand called Asti. All I 
can say is, don't do it. Maple syrup is sour by 
83 



comparison. That night we were tired and 
went to oed, only to get up and find it still rain- 
ing. We made a trip around town, though, and 
in searching for a restaurant at which to break- 
fast, we were directed to the Hotel du Nord. 

We had an excellent breakfast at this restau- 
rant, and there is no question that the chef 
understands his business, but the prices are 
higher even than at a similar place in Paris. 
The check was for twenty-four francs and we 
didn't have much either. 

Outside, Lou complained of indigestion; she 
said she didn't know whether it was the break- 
fast or the check. 

That night we went to a real theatre, the only 
one open at the time in Geneva. They were 
playing "Charley's Aunt" or "La Marraine de 
Charley," as it is known in the French version. 
It wasn't badly done, but Lou said she didn't 
enjoy it half as much as the performances in 
that tent at Nantua. 

We had now got to September 16 and the 
weather was still gloomy, yet it didn't rain. In a 
spasm of economy and still remembering the 
check for twenty-four francs at the Hotel du 
Nord, Lou dragged us to some place where we 
could breakfast for 30 cents. I had rather not 
say much about that breakfast, but it certainly 
wasn't worth more than they asked for it. Af- 
ter breakfast, while Lou went home to put on 
her bicycle costume, Joe and I went and got 
something to eat. That afternoon we rode all 

84 



over Geneva, although the roads outside of the 
city were still in such a condition as to make it 
impossible for us to continue our journey. It 
is remarkable how much more of a city you can 
see in one afternoon on a bicycle than you pos- 
sibly could in traveling around a number of 
days on foot. I need not tell you of the myriad 
of pretty articles in the way of jewelry and 
souvenirs displayed in the show windows at 
Geneva. When you get there you will see them 
for yourself. 

On September 17 we called on the United 
States Consul at Geneva, Benjamin H. Ridgely, 
who, besides being an authority on international 
law and a linguist who speaks French as well 
as he does English, is an enthusiastic cyclist. 
Mr. Ridgely has made the tour of the Lake of 
Geneva on his wheel more than a dozen times, 
besides having ridden over most of Southern 
Europe. To him we are indebted for the route 
which we subsequently took on our trip to Inter- 
laken and across the Alps to Milan and Venice. 
He also kindly lent us some maps of his own 
which were invaluable to us on the journey. 
Mr. Ridgely expressed the opinion that the 
trip from Brigue across the Simplon to Domo 
d'Ossola is perhaps the most beautiful bicycle 
ride in the world. 

That afternoon Joe had an adventure which 

illustrates a curious practice in Switzerland. 

Joe speaks French pretty well, so when he went 

into a barber shop he said with calm confidence, 

85 



"La barbe, une seule fois, bien vite s'il vous 
plait," meaning to say, "Shave, once over, 
mighty quick, please." 

To Joe's surprise the man grabbed the scissors 
and began to make frantic attempts to cut his 
hair. Joe flushed a little to think his French 
should meet with such a reception. Hastily he 
seized a razor in his hand and said again, in 
French, "What's the matter with you? I said 
shave." 

At last the man, seeing the razor, seemed to 
comprehend, and proceeded to shave his victim. 

When he was through Joe said very distinctly 
"Pas de poudre," naturally wishing to say "no 
powder," whereupon the man seized the puff 
and powdered Joe vigorously all over the face, 
not missing his mouth when Joe opened it to 
expostulate. 

"Don't you speak French?" cried Joe. "Nein," 
said the man with a stupid look. 

Joe began to think he was in an idiot asylum 
when the proprietor came out of the back room 
and offered this explanation. His employe, he 
said, was what is known in Switzerland as a 
Volontaire, that is to say, he was one of those 
Germans who come over into a French Canton 
to learn the French language, offering his ser- 
vices voluntarily and receiving only his board 
for his work. 

But Joe's saddest adventure in Geneva was of 
a more serious character. The night before the 
last of our stay there we dined at the Grand 
86 



Cafe. I had walked down with Lou, and Joe 
was the only one with a bicycle. When we 
started to go home it was raining a little and 
Joe asked the proprietor if he could leave his 
bicycle at the cafe. That gentleman said "cer- 
tainly," and was greatly insulted when Joe 
wanted to put his chain on it. "Your bicycle 
is as safe here as it would be in your own 
house," he said with a grandiloquent air. So 
Joe did not insist further, but left his wheel, 
with some misgivings. 

Next morning Joe called and got his wheel. 
On mounting it he noticed that the hind tire 
bumped. Getting off, he found the tire entirely 
deflated, and looking for the cause, found a nail 
in it more than an inch long. He dragged the 
proprietor out to look at it. That individual 
was very sorry, but he had merely promised Joe 
that his wheel would be safe, and the only thing 
he could imagine was that one of the members 
of his orchestra must have taken it out for an 
early morning ride, and that after having picked 
up the nail, must have ridden back with the 
air out of the tube. There was nothing for Joe 
to do but go to the representatives of the manu- 
facturer of his tire at Geneva. There they tried 
to repair the tire but the cut was so near the 
valve, they said, that when it was blown up it 
exploded, and Joe had to buy another tire of the 
same make. The manufacturers of the tire at 
Paris subsequently sent him a new tire without 
charge on his representation of the case. The 
tire reached us at Milan. 



The night of September 21 was bright and 
starlight, so we made arrangements for the for- 
warding of our trunks to Interlaken, and pre- 
pared to continue our journey next morning. 




CHAPTER IX. 



En Route at Last* 

N the morning of September 21 we 
realized the truth of the proverb 
which runs as the French put it, 
^ "Tout vient a point a qui sait at- 
tendre." Surely we had waited 
long enough for the sun, and, at length, there 
it was in all its glory. Our next step may seem 
singular to most cyclists, for instead of riding to 
Lausanne we took the lake steamer which left 
the Quai du Mont-Blanc at about eleven o clock. 
It is true that the roads were perfectly rideable, 
and that a tour even around the whole of Lake 
Geneva is a most interesting one. At the same 
time, on such a trip as we were undertaking, 
one gets plenty of bicycling, and by taking a 
steamer we had a chance to see both sides of 
the lake, as the boat touches here and there 
at ports on either shore; whereas had we ridden 
to Lausanne, we would have only seen the lake 
from one side. Besides we were able to break- 
fast very comfortably on board and found the 
cuisine excellent. 
The following is an account of an excursion 



around the lake from a local publication: 

"This beautiful excursion is generally made 
on the spacious steamboat called La Suisse, 
which leaves the Quai du Mont-Blanc at 9 
o'clock in the morning and returns to Geneva 
at 8 o'clock. Return tickets are issued for this 
excursion. There is an excellent restaurant on 
board where dinner may be had at any time. 

"The steamboat follows at first the Swiss side 
of the lake, passing before Coppet, where there 
is the chateau of Madame de Stael, Nyon, a little 
town in the Canton de Vaud containing a pic- 
turesque chateau; a little further on, at Pran- 
gins, there is the house and estate which be- 
longed to Prince Napoleon. The boat now 
crosses the lake and touches at Thonon and 
Evian from where it again returns to the Swiss 
side and stops at Ouchy (funicular tramway up 
to Lausanne). Continuing along the Swiss side 
of the lake, the steamer passes before Vevey, 
Montreux, le Chateau de Chillon and stops at 
Villeneuve. During the whole of this part of the 
sail visitors will be able to admire the superb 
mountains which surround the lake, the Dents 
d'Oche, the Cornettes de Bise, the Grammont, 
and farther back the Dent du Midi with its sev- 
en points. 

"This excursion may also be made in another 
way. Tne express boat may be taken at 6 
o'clock, at half-past ten the visitor will be at 
Territet, where he may take the funicular rail- 
way up to Glion and from there the cogged- 

90 



wheel railway up to the top of the Rochers de 
Naye, at an altitude of about 2,044 metres, or 
about 6,800 feet, where he will arrive at 12 
o'clock. The view is superb and the way up 
most interesting. At 2 o'clock the train must be 
taken again down to Territet, from where La 
Suisse starts at 3:30, arriving at Geneva at 8 
o'clock." 

There is no use to attempt to describe the 
beauties of the scenery by which Lake Geneva 
is environed. It is known as one of the most 
beautiful lakes in the world, and the scene from 
the boat was such a lovely one that Lou de- 
clared she believed even the bicycles enjoyed 
it. It was still early in the afternoon when we 
arrived at Ouchy. As soon as we were fa.rly 
on shore we mounted our bicycles and, instead 
of climbing up the steep hill which leads to 
Lausanne, we set out on the road which winds 
along the shove of the lake and, exhilarated by 
the air of a perfect September day, wheeled 
along at a pace which we would never have 
dared to touch during the epoch of cloudy 
weather and muddy roads which we had so far 
experienced. 

Our destination now was Montreux, which is 
known as the Nice of Switzerland. The further 
we rode the more delightful the scenery be- 
came. To our leit were sunny slopes covered 
with vines heavy with ripening grapes of both 
the light and dark varieties. To the right, at 
our feet, were the pellucid waters of the lake 
91 



with their peculiar blue, and further ahead and 
to the right again, were snow-capped moun- 
tains which seemed in the sharper contrast 
from the rich verdure and ruddy grapes about 
us. We arrived at Montreux about six o'clock 
in the evening. 

The only thing which provoked Lou during 
the trip was the fact that she couldn't get any 
milk that was not boiled. The idea that one 
must drink boiled milk or none at all was too 
much for her. When we didn't seem to sym- 
pathize enough with her she said she guessed 
we would appreciate the situation better if we 
couldn't get anything but boiled absinthe or 
boiled beer. Even at Vevey, a popular winter 
resort for foreigners, Lou was equally unfortu- 
nate in her attempt to get fresh milk. At Mon- 
treux we went to the Hotel du Pare, where we 
had an excellent table d'hote at three francs 
each, and wine included. Our rooms afforded 
an excellent view of the scenery for which Mon- 
treux is famous, but owing to the popularity of 
the place as a winter resort prices ran a little 
higher than usual, Joe and Lou paying five 
francs for their room while I got off for four.^ 

It had been our intention to ride on from here 
to Pribourg, but when we learned that every 
bit of the way was up hill and that even the 
trains required two engines to pull them up the 
incline we decided to take the train ourselves, 
as it was only a matter of something more than 
thirty kilometers and the fare was insignificant. 
92 




A REFRESHING SWISS WATERFAU,. 



The fact was Lou had confided to Joe that she 
was afraid she would get bow-legged if she 
walked up too many hills, and Joe, who was get- 
ting a little stout, was quite as ready to ride as 
she was, though he made her believe that he 
only consented as a great personal sacrifice. 

If there had been a person of average intel- 
ligence at Montreux we would have been obliged 
to ride back only as far as Chexbres, just 
the other side of Vevey, in order to take the 
train which passed through there for Fribourg 
about three o'clock in the afternoon. But as 
it was we were told we would have to ride 
away back to Lausanne over the road which 
we had come in order to get a train which went 
to Fribourg. This train left Lausanne a little 
after two o'clock and was the one we might 
nave taken at Chexbres, if they had only known 
enough to tell us about it. It wasn't that we 
minded going over that route again, but the 
difficulty came after we arrived at Ouchy, where 
to reach Lausanne we had to climb a 
hill practically impossible to ride, being 
steep and about six kilometers long. As 
we were ascending the hill a woman driv- 
ing a horse attached to a sort of buck- 
board and which, by the constant use of the 
whip, she kept at a lively trot, became so 
lost to everything else in her contemplation of 
Lou that she nearly ran over that young woman, 
much to the latter's indignation. Once at the 
top of the hill at Lausanne one is rewarded by 
94 



a view for which Lou could find no other ex- 
pression than "Simply gorgeous!" Still we 
were getting so used to lovely views that it is 
doubtful whether we would have climbed that 
hill for this particular one if we'd known about 
the station at Chexbres. As we had more than 
an hour on our hands before train t.me we went 
to the Hotel Terminus for our breakfast. 

On adding up the check Joe noticed that the 
waiter had charged us one franc each for our 
coffee and cognac, though it should not by any 
possibility have been more than ten cents or, at 
most, twelve cents. Joe questioned the waiter 
and then asked the head waiter about the 
charge. Both insisted that it was all right, and 
to the astonishment of Lou and myself Joe paid 
the check without further expostulation. As 
soon as we were off the porch Lou turned to her 
husband and said: "Can we never make a trav- 
eler of you? Why that was simply extortion." 

"Never mind, my dear," said Joe, quietly, 
showing the check. "God has punished the 
wicked head waiter; he forgot to mark the bot- 
tle of wine we had." 

It was a fact; in their haste to charge double 
price for the coffee and cognac they had for- 
gotten to mark down our bottle of wine which, 
if I remember rightly, was three francs. Any- 
way it was a case of the biter bit. 

Our tickets to Fribourg were something like 
five francs each and as, drawn by two engines, 
the train puffed slowly up the incline we had 
95 



almost as good a chance to view the scenery 
as we would have had if we had been pushing 
our bicycles on foot, particularly as we had one 
of those cars so often found in Switzerland in 
which one can walk from one end to the other. 
At Fribourg we merely made a brief tour of the 
town on our bicycles, as Joe had conceived the 
idea of getting to a little Swiss hamlet called 
Noreaz. This place was the home of an old 
and faithful Swiss valet who had served his 
family a long time on both sides of the Atlantic. 
He was at present home on a vacation and Joe 
had promised him that if he ever rode through 
Switzerland he would look him up. We learned 
that Noreaz was only about 15 kilometers 
from Fribourg and rode there over a series of 
most picturesque by-paths which may never be- 
fore have known the mark of a foreigner's 
wheel. As we approached Noreaz, which is 
prettily situated half way up tne low mountain, 
our ears were greeted by the sound of most 
peculiar music. 

"It sounds nke a xylophone," I ventured. 

"It is the Angelus," said Lou in an awed tone. 

"It's cows," said Joe. And Joe was right. 

As we rounded a sharp turn there in the 
meadow below were at least a hundred cattle 
gathered in for the night. Each one wore a 
bell and each bell was of a different size and 
attuned to a different key. The effect was real- 
ly like that of many sets of chimes rung to- 
gether, so Lou's mistake was not at all an un- 
natural one. 

96 



Our arrival at Noreaz, a place of some one 
hundred and twenty inhabitants, created a 
veritable sensation not unmixed with conster- 
nation, if one may judge by the fact that one 
boy dropped a pail of milk and another fell into 
the watering trough just at the sight of Lou. 
They had never seen a woman cyclist before. 
But as for Eugene, the faithful dependent whom 
we had come to look up, he was at once aston- 
ished and overjoyed, and nothing would do but 
that we must come with him and break bread 
and drink wine under the family roof. It was 
now too late for us to get back to Fribourg that 
night so we were lodged in the little chalet 
which served as an inn. The rooms were so 
low that one couldn't jump for joy without dan- 
ger of a fractured skull, but the roof we felt 
quite certain would stay on during the night at 
least, because it was held down by several 
monster rocks. Lou said she didn't care wheth- 
er it blew off or not as she always had a weak- 
ness for astronomy and star-gazing generally. 
The view from the chalet was superb, or at 
least as much of it as we could see through the 
lilliputian windows. 

All Noreaz had gathered at our door the fol- 
lowing morning to see us start back on our way 
to Fribourg, to which place we were obliged to 
return before setting out for Berne, about thirty 
kilometers from Fribourg. Fribourg, as I have 
already said, is only fifteen kilometers from 
Noreaz, leaving us only about forty-five kilo- 

97 



meters for the day, about Lou's size, although 
frequently she didn't mind sixty, and once later 
on in Holland, even so far forgot herself as to 
ride one hundred without noticing it. We 
found Fribourg in gala attire. The whole pop- 
ulation had turned out to attend the trial of 
a man who had murdered the station master 
of a nearby town. Fribourg is an interesting 
city with a very old cathedral, which Lou 
wouldn't go into, however, declaring sue had 
rather miss a picture or two than get a cold 
in the head. By the way, if you happen to 
have anybody in your path in life and want to 
get rid of him, just get him to cycle with you 
in Europe during the hot weather and then 
push him into two or three old cathedrals as 
you go by, while you stay outside yourself. 

The suspension bridge at Fribourg is regard- 
ed as a great engineering feat and one of the 
sights of the city. We had to cross it on our 
way to Berne and found the view on the middle 
of it very fine. 

Once over the bridge and up a short hill to 
the left we found the road to Berne excellent, 
though the scenery wasn't particularly inter- 
esting. One thing we noticed in this district, 
and in fact nearly everywhere throughout 
Switzerland, was the great number of women 
and children working in the fields. Very few 
men were visible. At Berne we first went to a 
hotel marked in the book as the Touring Club 
of France ls one on its list. Here we were \m- 



able to follow our usual tactics as there were 
no tables outside. However, I stayed with the 
bicycles in the courtyard while Joe and Lou 
went up to look at the room. The name of the 
hotel was the Hotel du Falcon and when Joe 
and Lou came down they were unanimous mat 
they wouldn't have the room at any price. No 
attempt was made to prevent our exit, tnough 
the proprietor from the moment he learned our 
decision treated us with great hauteur. It was 
now quite dark and it was drizzling outside 
so we were ready to take almost anything that 
might offer for the night, but fortunately tum- 
bled on the Hotel Pfistern, or Hotel des Bou- 
langers, as it is also known. This proved to 
be one of the best hotels we had found yet, 
though a little higher priced than many. We 
paid six and four francs respectively for our 
rooms. The restaurant was extremely good and 
the prices were not too high. 

Lou said she would hate to be in the um- 
brella trade in Berne, and we agreed with her. 
One can walk up and down the sidewalks of 
almost any of the streets of Berne in the busi- 
ness part of the town, even when it is raining 
hard, without getting in the least wet. The 
upper par. of the houses are built out over the 
sidewalks so that one walks along a continuous 
arcade on the inner side of which are the shop 
windows, while in the archways which occur 
every few feet are open counters and tables 
covered with every knick-knack and gew-gaw 
peculiar to the country. 
100 



One of the interesting sights of Berne is the 
clock tower with a clock which strikes every 
quarter of an hour. From the suspension 
bridge one has an excellent view of the Jung- 
frau. Then, of course, Berne wouldn't be Berne 
without its bear pit, which has existed there 
for many, many generations until the bears 
have become much more important in Berne 
than the aldermen are at New York. It is real- 
ly doubtful whether Berne could get along with- 
out her bears, while New York — but never mind 
that. One thing we all noticed about Berne 
was its unusual number of really nandsome 
women. In fact, we saw more good-looking 
women there than anywhere else on any of 
our tours. They were not only fine looking but 
of superb physique and brimming over with 
health and spirits. Lou said that she has a 
suspicion that that is why we found Berne in- 
teresting enough to keep us there three days 
in spite of fine weather. But then, Lou doesn't 
mean all that she says. 

The guide book states that ninety-five per 
cent, of the inhabitants of Berne are German 
and that only five per cent, speak French. If 
this is the case we must have met someone who 
belonged to that five per cent, whenever, as fre- 
quently happened, we were obliged to enquire 
our way or seek other information; for nearly 
every well-dressed person whom we accosted 
spoke at least a little French, and in one or 
two instances we met natives who were anxious 

102 




tit 




to try their alleged English on us. At last we 
managed to tear ourselves away from Berne 
with its bears and other manifold attractions, 
and set out for Thun, an interesting old town 
at the head of Lake Thun, only thirty kilo- 
meters away. The road was very direct and 
the wheeling good, though there was nothing 
particularly thrilling in the scenery. 

On arriving at Thun we gave our bicycles 
into the charge of the bicycle dealer of the 
town to be thoroughly cleaned and looked over 
generally. We found very good quarters at the 
Hotel Freienhof, near wnat is known as the 
Jardin Anglais. Joe's room cost the usual five 
francs, while I got off for three; the table 
d'hote dinner cost only two francs each. The 
next morning there was so much delay in get- 
ting our bill ready that we took all our bag- 
gage and went to the place where we had left 
our bicycles. There was nothing to prevent our 
leaving without settling with our host but tnat 
fact didn't disturb him in the least, and it is 
true that in nearly any part of Europe Ameri- 
can and English tourists share the confidence 
of tradesmen and hotel people to a degree that 
native customers can never hope to enjoy. 
After we had gone back and settled our bill we 
set out for Interlaken along the upper or left 
hand side of the lake of Thun, going towards 
that place. Here we were most agreeably sur- 
prised by a bit of landscape which had not 
perhaps been equaled since we began our ride. 

104 



The road all along the way was perfect for 
wheeling; with the exception of one hill which 
Ave had to climb it was mostly down grade. At 
places the road was almost entirely overhung 
with great crags and ledges of rock, and every 
now and then our way led through tunnels 
cut through the rocks sometimes a hundred 
yards in length. These holes through bits of 
mountain must have been dug at great expense 
but were made absolutely necessary by the 
character of the country. They were invaria- 
bly dripping with moisture and quite dark in 
the middle. At first we approached them with 
caution and no little anxiety but after naving 
passed several and found the road bed secure 
we rode with more confidence. To leave the 
warm sunshine outside, disappear into one of 
these subterranean passages only to emerge 
into the daylight at the other end, gave one 
a very odd but quite enjoyable sensation. In 
fact, I think we all remembered that ride from 
Thun to Interlaken, after the trip was over, as 
one of our jolliest experiences. We wheeled 
into Interlaken shortly after four o'clock in 
the afternoon. It was on the 26th of Septem- 
ber and as that happened to be Sunday the 
streets were filled with merry-makers, who 
were only too giad to enjoy the perfect weather 
after the rains which had prevailed earlier in 
the month. 



105 




CHAPTER X. 



Across the Grimsel. 

P course, at Interlaken, as at Gene- 
va, there was no lack of first-class 
hotels, but as we were on a bicycle 
trip, pure and simple, anything in 
the way of display was exactly 
what Lou wanted to avoid. Therefore, accord- 
ing to our custom, we rode about the town for 
an hour or so, stopping at the cafes of several 
hotels before we finally made our selection. The 
hotel we picked out as the result of our inves- 
tigation was the Hotel Bernerhof, where we got 
rooms affording us an excellent view of the 
Jungfrau. At this hotel we made an arrange- 
ment differing a little from our usual plan. We 
were to have our rooms with the cafe au lait 
served in them, together with a table d'hote 
dinner at night, with wine. Our solid break- 
fast, or dejeuner a la fourchette, we were to 
take a la carte, either at the hotel or elsewhere 
as we pleased. This enabled us to ride out after 
cafe au lait and take breakfast anywhere we 
liked without being obliged to pay for another 
at the hotel. This made our expenses individ- 

106 



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Jr 




&• 








ft'** 




t4- : 




'll-" 




•*t ■'■ 


t/i 


i**-* 


Z 


i 


<j 






P 




o 








F5 




£h 


gi 


fc 




w 



; 




ually less than eight francs a day, with every- 
thing included, which, besides being very cheap 
for Interlaken, gave us absolute freedom as to 
our movements. The proprietor of the hotel 
spoke both French and English. 

The Sunday night of our arrival we went to 
the Kursaal, where we listened to excellent 
music, besides doing a little mild gambling at 
a game something on the order of the petits che- 
vaux except that a little railroad train, instead 
of the horses, runs around the circle and stops 
at one of the stations marked on the board. 
These stations bear the names of the princi- 
pal capitals of Europe, and as there are eight of 
them, and as you are only paid six for one in 
case you happen to guess rightly which station 
the train is going to stop at, it will be readily 
seen that it is a hard game to beat. 

The next morning we spent in mousing 
around Interlaken, where Lou picked up lots of 
little trinkets in the way of souvenirs. When 
Lou began to buy things it was always a matter 
of congratulation to Joe that she was travel- 
ing on a bicycle and couldn't carry much with 
her. In the afternoon we rode on our wheels 
to Lauterbrunnen through the mysterious val- 
ley entirely shut in by mountains, to get a 
glimpse of the famous waterfall, an unceasing 
stream pouring over the picturesque cliff on the 
mountain above the road. Here again we got 
the effect of that same weird music which had 
attracted our attention at Noreaz; but this time 
108 




PICTURESQUE STAUBACH FAU.S. 



the bells were attached to goats, not to cattle. 
The road to jLauterbrunnen is only a little more 
than fifteen kilometers, and if one does have to 
climb a slight rise all the way in getting there, 
one has a glorious coast back. The next day 
we had planned to go and visit one of the 
glaciers on the Jungfrau. To do this we bought 
tickets to Grindewald. The tickets cost only 
something like 60 cents and the distance was 
only twenty-three kilometers, though it takes 
the train about two hours to make the trip. Of 
course anyone could ride on one's wheel to 
Grindewald, but I should advise against doing 
so, for, besides arriving in a heavy perspiration, 
the system could not fail to be more or less 
exhausted after that hard and continuous as- 
cent, and one would be in no condition to take 
the walk over the snow and ice of the glacier, 
and penetrate the great ice cave cut nearly a 
hundred yards through the solid ice of the 
glacier. Therefore, we went by train, and at 
Grindewald took horses and a guide for our 
visit to the grotto with its mysterious recesses 
and weird echoes, and later to the lower glacier 
and that wondrous cave through the solid ice. 
This is a most enjoyable trip and should not be 
missed by anyone who goes to Interlaken. As 
for Lou, she was perfectly delighted and de- 
clared if she ever rode horseback again she 
would do it in her bicycle costume. The guide 
and two horses cost Joe sixteen francs. I pre- 
ferred to walk. This price was a little lower 
than usual as the season was over. 

110 






w 




We had learned on our arrival that nearly 
everyone had left Interlaken about the fifteenth 
of the month, disgusted with the continued wet 
weather, that the Grimsel pass over which we 
proposed to go on our way into Italy had been 
closed by the snow and that diligence traffic 
over this pass always closes on September 15. 
But such delightful weather had prevailed dur- 
ing and several days prior to our arrival that 
we were informed if we would wait a day or two 
very likely the pass would be open again and 
we could cross it in a carriage from Meiringen. 

Therefore, on September 29, when word came 
that the pass was again clear we shipped our 
trunks to Milan by the petite vitesse and start- 
ed along the shore of Lake Brienz for the town 
of Brienz at the further end of the lake, less 
than twenty kilometers away. Interlaken, in 
fact, gets its name from its position between the 
lake of Thun and the lake of Brienz. The road 
from Interlaken to Brienz was excellent but the 
scenery was hardly as fine as that between 
Thun and Interlaken. Arriving at Brienz we 
found that we could get a one-horse carriage 
to take us across the Grimsel for forty-five 
francs, but we thought we might as well ride 
along the fifteen kilometres that separated us 
from Meiringen, as a carriage from there would 
be cheaper, and besides we hadn't had riding 
enough for the day. 

We arrived at this point and found the Hotel 
Brunig quite a resort for American and English 
112 



people, about a dozen of whom still lingered on 
although the season was over. Many of the la- 
dies came to table d'hote dinner in more or 
less of evening dress, but that didn't bother 
Lou, for she was quite at home in her short 
skirt and said she knew all the rest of them 
were envying her. As a matter of fact, judging 
from the conversation at the table, every mem- 
ber of that little company bicycled, from grand- 
pa, who sat at its head, to the youngest child, 
a pretty little English girl about ten years old. 
Prices here were about the same as elsewhere, 
Joe and Lou paying only four francs for their 
room. The dinner though, was three francs 
for each person, without wine. However, we 
got a bottle of excellent Beaujolais for three 
francs. 

That night we made an arrangement with a 
man who owned a one-horse carriage to take us 
up the Grimsel pass the next day for thirty- 
five francs. He would have taken two persons 
for thirty. It was arranged that we should 
start at 8:30 the next morning. When we came 
down we found the bicycles artistically attached 
to the back of the carriage by ropes and sup- 
ported by boards. They were so arranged that 
there was little or no strain on them. The car- 
riage was one of the landau pattern. After a 
cup of coffee we started on our long journey up 
the pass. The distance, all told, was about 
thirty kilometers and the horse could only aver- 
age about four kilometers an hour. We were to 
114 



breakfast at Handegg, where we were due about 
noon. I think that if I were doing it over again, 
and particularly if there were no ladies in the 
party, I would advise keeping on with the bi- 
cycles as far as Handegg, as part of the road to 
that point is rideable and one could make much 
better than four kilometers an hour up to that 
point. After breakfasting at Handegg, where 
we submitted to some mild extortion owing to 
the lack of competition, we set out again for the 
top of the pass. The trip through one of these 
passes is always wonderful and beautiful, and 
the journey through the Grimsel was extremely 
picturesque, the fans at Handegg being espe- 
cially noticeable. 

When we arrived at the top of the pass our 
driver who spoke neither English nor French, 
drew up his horse and, having received his 
money, began unfastening the bicycles. Then, 
with one sweep of his hand toward the left and 
indicating a mass of white snow and ice he said, 
"Rhona glacier;" then, pointing toward the 
right, he pronounced the words "Munster — 
Brigue." With that he was gone. 

We now found ourselves in a rather peculiar 
position. It was nearly five o'clock and night 
was not far off. We were so high on the 
mountain ton that the clouds were settling 
about us and it began to rain; before us lay that 
terribly steep zig-zag path down the mountain, 
covered here and there by sharp-pointed broken 
stones with which the roaJ laborers had filled 
115 



in mud holes, and elsewhere, by larger bits of 
rock, which, freed from their position by the 
melting snow, had rolled from the crags above. 
This was the sort of roadway which confront- 
ed us, and to its right lay a precipice witn an 
awful descent of hundreds of feet to the rocks 
below, with nothing between us and its edge 
save a number of stone posts about two feet 
high at intervals of thirty feet. It was a 
hard road for any man to undertake, let alone 
a woman, bui Lou wouldn't hear of walking, so 
we all looked to sec that our biakes were in 
good condition and warned Lou under no cir- 
cumstances to let her wheel get beyOnd her 
control; if she found it was doing so to put on 
her brake hard and back pedal with all her 
might and then, if she still felt any doubt as 
to her ability to stop her machine, to promptly 
fall off before it had a chance to run away with 
her. Having taken these precautions we set 
out, not without misgivings but with a feeling 
that something must be done. After the first 
two kilometers we were out of the rain but the 
road grew no better. Yet every time that Joe 
and I, who were in advance, called back to Lou 
she replied that she was all right. 

At the bottom of the mountain, and in fact 
during the last part of the descent, the road 
was not too steep for comfortable riding, but 
as it was already growing dark and as Brigue 
was still fifty kilometers away we had to give 
up all idea, of course, of getting there that 
116 



night, .but we did manage to make Munster, 
though we rode the last three kilometers in a 
heavy shower which had come up suddenly. It 
was quite uark when we reached this tcwn 
and we now found ourselves among people w^io 
could speak practically nothing but German. 

At the Hotel de la Croix d'Or et Poste, a hotel 
of unusual excellence for so small a place, we 
found, however, a young woman who spoke 
French quite well. We had a fire built m the 
parlor for us, and a couple of hot drinks and a 
good dinner made us all feel better. The prices 
were about the same as usual, only the rooms 
being cheaper. I was charged two francs for 
my room, while Joe paid three. The weather 
being fair the next morning we rode on to 
Fiesch, a little more than twenty kilometers 
from Munster. Here we breakfasted at the 
Hotel du Glacier et Poste. The check for the 
three of us amounted only to eight francs, in- 
cluding wine, coffee and cognac. The road from 
here to Brigue was still down hill and we made 
perhaps the fastest time on the trip in spite of 
the fact that several drivers of diligences made 
frantic attempts to run over us or force us off 
the road. Throughout Switzerland cyclists will 
notice this desire to kill cyclists which every 
anigence driver seems to nourish within nis 
breast. 

At Brigue, after making our usual reconnoi- 
tres, we finally went to the Hotel D'Angleterre, 
where we found the prices ranged a little high- 
117 



er than customary but here again our touring 
club card diu us good service, securing for Joe 
and Lou the best room in the house for four 
francs, while I had a much smaller apartment 
and paid the same price. The dinners here 
were 3 francs 50 centimes, without wine, 
but wine was included with ours as a special 
concession. 

We found that to get across the Simplon pass, 
or, that is, to be taken up to the Hospice, would 
cost with a one-horse carriage twenty francs. 
But as we thought we would be more comfort- 
able with two horses, and as that cost only ten 
francs more, we made this arrangement. 

The ride up the Simplon was quite as beauti- 
ful as that across the Grimsel, and this time, 
when our driver left us at l'Hospice, the sun 
was shining. This building was erected by the 
great Napoleon for the care of his soldiers dur- 
ing his first descent on Italy ana is now occu- 
pied as a monastery. I had heard much of the 
hospitality or its inmates, but we searched it 
from top to bottom without being able to bring 
to light a single monk, muca to Lou's disap- 
pointment. 

The descent from l'Hospice is much less diffi- 
cult to negotiate than on the Grimsel — from the 
effects of which, by the way, we were still suf- 
fering, our legs being stiff from back pedaling, 
as if we had taken a long ride for the first time 
in the season. Our hands, too, were stiff and 
cramped from where we had used the brake. 
118 



ftLontots 



.Pans 



.Bale 



Berlin 



rigue 



Saint Oothard 



unplon 
lodossola 



fArona 



NovareJ 



Milan 



TurirT 



Alexandrie 



/ 






inii 



' s Ped 6 



Wle 



*% 



tyW 



FROM BRIGUE TO MILAN, GENOA AND NICE. 



From 1'Hospice we had a delightful ride down 
to the town of Simplon, where we got an excel- 
lent breakfast at the Hotel de la Poste which, in 
spite of its unpretentious appearance, is well 
kept. 

Soon after leaving Simplon we began to real- 
ize that Consul Ridgley was right in speaking 
of this route in the terms of highest praise. If 
there is any more beautiful bicycle trip it isn't 
to be found in the same sort of country. One 
might prefer a ride through miles of orange 
groves, or perhaps one's taste might run to 
the fragrant paths of a pine forest, or even the 
carefully kept cycle paths of the Bois du Bou- 
logne, but for a trip, or rather a coast on a 
bicycle, alongside of rushing mountain streams 
in a narrow gorge where the rugged splendor of 
the surrounding scenery almost awes you, one 
might search the world over and Lnd nothing 
to equal that coast from the Simplon across the 
Italian frontier to Domo d'Ossola. 



120 



CHAPTER XL 



First Impressions of Italy. 

LL this route from the Simpion 
*/A down is in the nature of one long 

t-J coast and only two things inter- 

fered with our making twenty-five 
kilometers an hour. '<ne was the 
fact that in places where the sun's rays had 
been unable to reach there was more or less 
mud, and the other was Lou's tendency to keep 
us dismounting about every fifteen minutes 
while she had a chance to admire at her leisure 
some peculiarly striking bit of nature's handi- 
work. About half way between Simpion and 
Domo d'Ossola we crossed the frontier at a 
small place named Gordo. We could tell pretty 
surely when we were nearing the frontier by 
the sentry boxes with solitary sentinels which 
we remarked here and there before reaching 
Gordo itself. At the custom office we were 
politely received by an officer in uniform, who 
took our cards to a clerk at a desk inside. The 
cards were scrutinized carefully enough, but 
little care was taken in comparing the numbers 
and names on the cards with those on 

121 



the machines and as all our wheels 
were somewhat spattered with mud I have 
my doubts whether the custom house offi- 
cials saw tne artistic 133 which Joe had so care- 
fully cut in Lou's machine. Anyway we com- 
plied with all the formalities and on the pay- 
ment of twenty-four cents each we got our re- 
ceipts of entry and went on our way rejoicing. 
On our receipts the name of the town was 
stamped Gondo but all the maps give it Gordo. 
It was nearly six o'clock when we entered the 
pretty town of Domo d'Ossola. Our first at- 
tempt at a hotel did not prove a success. The 
house was attractive in exterior appearance but 
as the waiters, the chambermaids, the porters, 
the stable boys, the cooks, together with the 
proprietor, his wife and rour daughters all gath- 
ered around us at once and gibbered away in 
Italian we concluded it was no place for us 
and fled incontinently, even leaving the refresh- 
ments which we had ordered untasted on the 
table. Further along, in the center of the town, 
we found a less pretentious hotel known as the 
Albergo Manini, the proprietor of which had 
only two waiters and the good sense to speak 
French. Here Joe and Lou got very good rooms 
for three francs, while I didn't fare at all badly 
and only paid two. Among the changes that we 
began to remark was that the rooms no longer 
had two beds. In fact, no room of average size 
would have the space for two ordinary Italian 
beds. I hardly dare to say how large they are, 
122 



but think I'm safe in stating that they are 
larger than billiard tables, and not so large as 
lawn tennis courts. To get as near as possible 
the exact dimensions I should say they ran 
from seven to ten feet wide. Among the other 
odd things that we noticed immediately after 
our advent in Italy was a custom, altogether too 
common, of serving the soup after the fish, 
and cold meats after the entrees and roasts 
had been eaten. Lou said it would not surprise 
her a bit to get her oysters after her ice cream 
if that sort of thing kept on. 

We also noticed that when an Italian wanted 
to light his cigar after dinner the waiter would 
bring him a lighted candle to which an iron 
support was attached by a ring sliding up and 
down the candle itself. On this support the 
smoker would lay his cigar — generally about 
eight inches in length — with its end in the flame 
and let it burn away there for about five min- 
utes before he began to puff on it. Lou said 
that she thought fried cigars must be just as 
bad as boiled milk. We were also rather dis- 
appointed in the Italian grape. We had always 
supposed that if you were going to get good 
grapes anywhere it would be in Italy, but so 
far as we could see they were very little better 
than can be had in the south of France. The 
Italians have one sensible custom, though, 
about serving grapes. They never bring a 
bunch of grapes to the table without giving you 
a large bowl to wash them in. 

123 



So attractive did we find Domo a'Ossoia that 
we spent two nights there. Wheeling in the 
neighborhood was excellent and the table at the 
hotel very good. The dinners at the Albergo 
Manini were three francs with wine, a very fair 
red wine of the country. On October 4 we 
started out on our journey toward Milan, with 
a letter of recommendation from the proprietor 
of the hotel to his father, who kept a hotel at 
Orta. 

We had planned to breakfast at Omegna, about 
half way to Orta, which was some forty kilo- 
meters from Domo dOssola, but when we got 
as far as Omegna we breakfasted so late that 
we decided to spend the night there, particularly 
as the sky looked overcast and Lou, who had 
had her hair curled before leaving Domo 
d'Ossola, declared that she didn't want to take 
the chance of another wetting. At Omegna we 
went to the Albergo Croce Bianca. Here the 
price of rooms dropped for joe and Lou to 
three francs, or I should say three lire, which 
is equivalent to about the same thing, though 
really a little bit less. I paid two lire. The 
dinners were three lire each. The next day we 
spent roaming around the country and in the 
afternoon rode to Orta at the foot of a beauti- 
ful little lake of that name. Here we found the 
Hotel du Lion d'Or, charmingly situated and the 
prices as usual. We should have li^ed to linger 
there longer but we felt that we'd never get to 
Milan if we kept on spending two or three 
124 



days at each place that we found particularly 
attractive. 

The night of October 6 found us riding into 
Arona, a town of about four thousand inhabi- 
tants at the southern extremity of Lake Mag- 
giore. After looking the hotels over we con- 
cluded that none of them amounted to mucn 
and finally settled at the "Albergo Ristorante 
Ruffoni," Gia' Falcone, 'this hotel had an ex- 
cellent view of the lake and, though of decided- 
ly modest pretentions, proved to be perfectly 
comfortable. Here again Joe only paid three 
lire while I escaped for two. We had planned 
to stay several days at Arona in order to 
make a tour of the lake on one of the lake 
steamers which cruise from point to point on 
either side of this beautiful sheet of water. As 
we were riding around Arona, the afternoon of 
our arrival, Lou noticed the sign of a bath es- 
tablishment and after we had left our things 
at the hotel she announced that she was going 
back to get a good hot bath. She was gone 
about fifteen minutes and returned looking dis- 
gusted. 

"What's the matter?" said Joe. 

"Would you believe it," said Lou, "that old 
woman who runs that bath establishment said 
that if I wanted to take a hot bath I must let 
her know the day before so that she could get 
the fires lighted to heat the water?" 

"How do you know she said that?" asked Joe. 

"Oh, she didn't speak such bad French," said 
125 



Lou, "and she seemed quite surprised tnat I 
should find anything unusual in being obliged 
to give twenty-four hours' notice of my inten- 
tion to take a bath." 

Next day we took a steamer and went up the 
lake as far as Isola Bella, where there is a most 
interesting palace belonging to one of the oldest 
families of the Italian nobility. This trip on 
the Lake Maggiore is something that no one 
who passes through Arona, or is even as near 
as Milan, should miss. 

After another day's tour in the neighborhood, 
both by boat and wheel, we set out for Milan 
by the way of Gallarate and Legnano. This 
made a ride of sixty-five kilometers. 

En route, however, we stopped at a place 
called Lorenzo to get breakfast and there Lou 
got it into her head that her hind tire wasn't 
blown up tight enough to suit her ideas of 
rigidity. Joe and I managed to pump it up for 
her but in some way or another something hap- 
pened to the valve and our united ingenuity 
could not make the air stay in that blessed tire. 
So there we were, more than twenty kilometers 
from Milan with Lou's wheel in an unrideable 
condition. No one about the place spoke any- 
tmng but Italian, but Joe got out his pocket 
dictionary and carried on a long conversation 
with one Italian more intelligent than the rest, 
who made us understand that in about an hour 
a steam tramway would pass the door which 
would take us right into the city, bicycles and 
126 



all, for twenty cents apiece. Then we felt bet- 
ter and had breakfast. By the way, if you are 
afflicted by a large appetite and a small pocket- 
book, go to Lorenzo, Italy, and become a 
boarder at the Ristorante Dell 'Angelo. The 
breakfast for us three cost fifty-nine cents, 
which was divided up in this way: Wine eight 
cents, bread four cents, an enormous plate of 
fried potatoes sixteen cents, milk and butter for 
Lou twelve cents, a large plate of chops sixteen 
cents, one pony of kummel three cents. This 
certainly was cheap enough and we had more 
than we wanted. 

Naturally we were all somewhat disappointed 
in not being able to ride into Milan, but felt that 
we were very fortunate to have the tramway so 
near at hand, and, although, when we were once 
on board we were carried along pretty fast, we 
got a fair view of the country, which wasn't 
nearly as interesting to us as the people. On 
leaving the car the first thing we did was to 
look up a repairer of bicycles and he soon had 
Lou's machine in running order. We were 
surprised on riding through Milan at the atten- 
tion which Lou attracted. We expected this 
sort of thing in the country and smaller towns, 
but in a city like Milan, of more than 300,000 
inhabitants, we hadn't supposed she would at- 
tract any more attention than sne would in 
New York. Still it was a fact, and we couldn't 
help noticing it, that people stopped in the 
streets, turned arounc 1 and stared after her. 
127 



Later on we learned that ladies ride compara- 
tively little in Milan and then confine their 
wheeling to the park, seldom appearing in the 
city itself. 

It is more difficult to find the right kind of 
lodgings in a large city than in the smaller 
towns that one rides through when touring. 
After many disappointments in the way of 
quarters which proved unsuitable either be- 
cause they were too dear or too cheap, more by 
good luck than anything else we stumbled upon 
the Hotel St. Michel and Bernerhof. situated 
right in the heart of the city. If the street 
which it is in has any name I never knew it, 
and the proprietor doesn't put it on his bill 
heads. It stands in the first street back of the 
cathedral, or the first street to the right off the 
Corso Victor Emanuel. Any cabman in Milan 
knows the Hotel St. Michel, as it is commonly 
called. 

We had planned to stay some time in Milan, 
and finding that we could have our meals at 
any hour that suited us we agreed to pay so 
much a day for our meals with board. We 
wouldn't have thought of doing this if we had 
not had our own table in the restaurant and or- 
dered just what we liked, as if we were living 
on the a la carte principle. We were at the 
hotel two weeks on this plan and found it very 
satisfactory, the only trouble being that there 
was a great deal too much of everything. Only 
the fires in our rooms were extra. The price we 
128 



paid for all this, with wine included, was seven 
francs a day, each. It is useless for me to try 
to describe here the beauties of Milan. Bae- 
deker will tell you all about it. All I can say 
is that it rained nearly all the time during tnose 
two weeks, and yet we were not bored. The 
theatre, the opera and the concert hall in Milan 
are within the financial reach of all and cabs 
can be had for thirty cents for the first hour, 
and twenty cents for all hours afterward. Milan 
is a wretched place to bicycle in, however, 
as the streets are narrow and cuoked up with 
traffic. 

It was not till October 18 that the weather 
was pleasant enough to warrant our starting 
on our ride to Venice. On the afternoon of that 
day we started out at 3 o'clock in the afternoon 
and rode to Lodi, some thirty-one kilometers 
from Milan. We got there while it was still light 
and went to the Albergo Ristorante Vignola, 
where we got rooms for seven francs, four of 
which fell to Joe's share. The hotel is on the 
main square of the town, known as the Piazza 
.vlaggiore, and nearly opposite was the restau- 
rant Vedova, where we all dined comfortably for 
a dollar. In the morning Lou was much inter- 
ested in a market which was being held in the 
square, attended by peasants from all the coun- 
try around. We got under way about 11 o'clock, 
and riding across the bridge made famous by 
the charge of the French troops, led by the great 
Napoleon himself, we cycled sixteen kilometers 

129 



to Crema, where we breakfasted at the Albergo 
Ponte di Rialto. By this time we had learned 
Italian enough to know ihat vino was wine, 
pane was bread, uova fritta was fried eggs and 
uva was grapes. We had also grasped the fact 
that caffe was coffee and latte meant milk. In 
fact, Lou said she knew lots more things, and 
I guess she did by the confidence with which 
she kept saying to the peasants along the route, 
"quella strada andare to the next old place?" 
After having paid the enormous sum of 
eighty cents for breakfast we started out again 
by the way of Romanengo, Soncino Pompiano 
and Torbole, and quite early in the afternoon 
had finished the thirty-three kilometers which 
lay between us and Brescia where we were to 
pass the night. 



130 




CHAPTER XII. 



Nearing Venice. 

HAD no difficulty in finding a 
good hotel at Brescia as there 
were several all near together. 
Our choice was the Albergo dell 
'Orologio, which was on the main 
square in the centre of the town. The young 
man in charge spoke French very well, and the 
price of a double room was only three francs. 
In the restaurant one is well served, a la carte, 
at the low prices prevailing in Italy. Brescia 
is pleasantly situated on a hill and commands a 
magnificent view and there are many things 
of interest to be seen there, besides the inevi- 
table cathedral. In fact, we did not stay at 
Brescia as long as we should have liked to, for 
the next day was fair and we were anxious to 
push on to Verona, which was just sixty-six 
kilometers further on our way to Venice. We 
breakfasted at Lonato, a town of between 6,000 
and 7,000 inhabitants, twenty-three kilometers 
from Brescia. The road to Verona we found ex- 
cellent, although the weather was uncomfort- 

131 



ably warm, in spite of the fact that it was 
almost the end of October. 

Among the other things which the cyclist no- 
tices in this part of Lombardy are the rows 
after rows of high hedges which line the road on 
either side and shut out, most of the time, what- 
ever scenery there may be. But, as a rule, this 
country is flat and rather uninteresting. I 
should judge that the same thing is true of 
nearly all of Lombardy. Ordinarily, in cycling, 
one has a constant change of view and the road 
twists about bringing with each turn some 
change of scene, but this isn't the case on the 
road from Milan to Venice, where, for mile 
after mile one sees before him a great stretch of 
road without a single turn or deviation, which 
makes the way seem much longer. In fact, Lou 
said she'd rather climb a hill or put up with 
most any kind of wheeling if they would only 
give her a little variety. 

As you wheel along, too, you can't help being 
struck with tne fact that Italy must be the bar- 
gain counter of the world for statuary. Every 
estate along the road, whether the house there- 
on be a mansion or a modest cottage, is sure to 
have the statue of some well-known mytho- 
logical character in life size on either gate post, 
and the walls enclosing the grounds are inva- 
riably decorated with the busts of those whose 
names have come down to us from the days of 
antiquity. And scattered about the grounds 
themselves are more statues, many of which, 
132 



owing to their exposure to the weather, look 
more or less the worse for wear. In these cases 
Venus de Milo no longer has a corner on being 
the only statue without arms. Armless Apollos 
and legless Venuses, not to mention Jupiters 
minus an ear, are frequently seen, while many 
of the marble counterfeit presentments of Bac- 
chus make that giddy young god look as if he 
had been out all night and had run into the 
club of a New York policeman. 

However, all these things are amusing and 
Lou rather enjoyed the sensation she caused 
when we dashed through the small Italian ham- 
lets and villages, where men and women ran 
out into the streets in a frantic endeavor to get 
a glimpse of the spirit from a foreign land who 
flew through their country on wheels. Still it 
is only fair to say that the Italians were only 
animated by sheer curiosity and that their at- 
tentions were never otherwise than respectful, 
if we except one case in Milan, where an irre- 
sponsible small boy threw a stick at Lou's wheel 
which broke the mud-guard. Joe would have 
liked to administer a good American spanking 
to this young son of Italy, but he fled like the 
wind and was soon lost in a crowd of his 
fellows. 

From Lonato our way lay through Rivoltella, 
Peschiera to Castelnuovo di Ver. The last men- 
tioned place is only eighteen kilometers from 
Verona, where we arrived just at dark. As it 
was raining at the time, we went to the first 
133 



hotel we could find, which happened to be the 
Alia Gabbia, which is on the Piazza Erbe. This 
hotel was not as cheerful as it might have been, 
but still we were not uncomfortable there. A 
room for two persons cost four lire, and all the 
prices were quite as reasonable as those I have 
already mentioned. 

We did not see Verona under the pleasantest 
circumstances and yet we enjoyed it thoroughly, 
although it rained almost incessantly while we 
were there. Really Verona is one of the most 
interesting cities of Italy, if not of all Europe. 
It is a perfect symposium of Roman antiquities 
and of cathedrals decorated by the greatest mas- 
ters known to Italian art. Its amphitheatre is 
believed to have been constructed in the years 
68 and 69 A. D., and almost all of its celebrities 
of past ages can boast of having been dead 
longer than similar celebrities almost anywhere 
else in Italy. Naturally we visited all the 
cathedrals most worthy of our attention, be- 
sides making an inspection of the fortifications 
of the city, which are most complete and in- 
teresting. 

I think what Lou enjoyed most was our call 
at the alleged tomb of Romeo and Juliet. I 
say tomb, although what we saw was only a 
small part of it. In appearance it resembled a 
great stone bathtub, which was more than half 
filled with the visiting cards which had been 
left there by sympathetic callers from all parts 
of the world. Lou followed the example of her 
134 



predecessors and dropped a dainty little card, 
and, I suspect, a tear where so many similar 
cards and possibly tears had been dropped be- 
fore. We were told afterwards that there are 
really no authentic proofs that what is pointed 
out to the visitors at Verona as part of the 
tomb of Romeo and Juliet is really what it is 
supposed to be, but Lou would never listen to 
the story for an instant. She declares she is 
sure that that stone bathtub is the real thing 
for she felt the presence of the unfortunate 
lovers as she stood beside it. One thing that 
troubled Lou in Verona, as elsewhere in Italy, 
was the idea that Garibaldi, who had been dead 
only such a short time, should have so many 
more statues than lots of other distinguished 
Italians who died centuries before he was born. 

On the morning of the third day, as it was 
still raining, we made up our minds that if it 
hadn't cleared up by afternoon we would go by 
rail to Vicenza, which was fifty kilometers 
further along on our road to Venice. Therefore, 
as the weather was unchanged in the after- 
noon, we took a train about four o'clock for 
Vicenza. But as we rode over this same route 
on our wheels on our way back from Venice, I 
am prepared to say that the wheeling between 
the two cities is not at all bad. 

On arriving at Vicenza we left our bicycles 

at the station, having unstrapped what baggage 

we carried on them. Then, for the first time 

and the last while on a wheeling tour in Eu- 

135 



rope, we entered one of the hotel omnibuses 
which was waiting at the station. A little later 
we had a chance to see for ourselves at what a 
disadvantage any one is who makes his entry 
into an Italian hotel under tnese circumstances. 

The particular omnibus which we got into 
belonged to the Hotel Roma, which is some dis- 
tance from the station. When the omnibus 
stopped we found ourselves in the courtyard 
of a hotel of considerable dimensions. The 
manager, who spoke French, said he had rooms 
for two persons as low as six francs. Lou ele- 
vated her eyebrows at this but said she would 
look at the quarters. Joe and I went up with 
her and were shown to a miserable little inside 
room with single bed. It was the worst thing 
in the way of rooms that we had seen since we 
left Paris. The waiter volunteered the infor- 
mation that they had something better for ten 
lire. There is no denying the fact that we 
were three pretty mad Americans when we 
got down stairs. 

The manager was standing on a chair wind- 
ing a clock, surrounded by four or five waiters, 
when we tackled him. Briefly, but in fervent 
language, we told him what we thought of him 
and his hotel and then before he had time to 
even get off his chair we each grabbed up our 
hand baggage and sailed out of the hotel. I 
don't think there was a more astonished hotel 
manager or a madder one in all Italy that night. 
A waiter followed us up the street trying to 
136 



get a lira each from us for our fares in the 
omnibus to the hotel. We paid no attention to 
him. Having sought out the nearest cafe we 
had no difficulty in being directed to an excel- 
lent hotel near by where Joe got a splendid 
double rooom for three lire and the restaurant 
was not only good but the prices in the restau- 
rant were even lower than some of those al- 
ready cited. 

We did little or no sight seeing in Vicenza, 
and though we breakfasted there we did not 
make a start till afternoon. It was Sunday and 
we attracted a good deal of attention when we 
made our appearance in the street. We arrived 
at Padua, thirty-two kilometers from Vicenza, 
so early in the afternoon that we thought we 
might as well keep on towards Venice, or rather 
Mestre, which is as far as one can go on one's 
wheel. At Mestre you take the boat or the 
train across the bridge to Venice. Mestre is 
only forty-two kilometers from Padua. We 
knew we couldn't reach Mestre that afternoon 
but thought we might arrive at Mira Vecchia, a 
town of nearly ten thousand inhabitants, where 
we could pass the night. That afternoon, how- 
ever, for the first time we lost our way. We 
made the mistake of asking in our Nutt's dic- 
tionary Italian if we were on the right road to 
Venice. In each case we were assured that we 
were. The good people that we met had no 
intention of deceiving us but while we were 
always riding towards our destination we were 
137 



entirely off me road to Mira Vecchia. When 
we discovered this fact it was already dark and 
the nearest town at which we could find ac- 
commodations for the night was called Mirano 
and was nearly ten kilometers away. There 
was nothing for it, however, but to make the 
ride in the dark. We had no lanterns, but man- 
aged to reach Mirano without accident between 
seven and eight o'clock. Here there was no 
question as to hotels. There was only one in 
the town. The main square of the town was 
lighted up and a brass band was playing in the 
center of it. Lou said she wondered how they 
knew we were coming. We were too glad to 
get anywhere to ask any questions about prices 
that night, but when we got our bill next morn- 
ing we could hardly believe our eyes. 

Joe and Lou had a room whlcn was nearly 
big enough for a bowling alley, with the usual 
decorated ceiling and painted walls. The 
charge for this for both of them was thirty 
cents, or fifteen cents apiece, while my room, 
which wasn't quite so large, was twenty cents. 
Dinner for us three was eighty cents, and three 
pints of wine were marked down as eighteen 
cents. The Benedictines, cognacs, etc., as well 
as the small cups of coffee were all charged for 
at the rate of two cents each. We could hardly 
believe that there had not been some mistake 
until we had paid the bill and received our 
receipt. Then we came to the conclusion that 
this must have been the first time any Ameri- 
138 



cans had ever stayed over night at Mirano. We 
were very careful not to spoil a good thing by 
expressing surprise or by giving over-extrava- 
gant tips. On inquiring in the morning where 
we were we found that we had only about ten 
kilometers to reach Mestre. We had to walk 
and push our machines, however, to get out of 
Mirano, as it was market day there and the 
streets were filled with peasants. 

The road to Mestre proved all right, and on 
arriving there, instead of leaving our wheels in 
the town itself, we followed the horse car track 
and rode out to the end of the point of land 
from which a little passenger steamer starts for 
Venice. There we found a storage room, pre- 
pared especially for the keeping of bicycles, at 
a cost, if I remember rightly, of five or six 
cents a day. On arriving at Venice we had no 
idea where to go, so on leaving the steamer we 
hired a gondola by the hour and were propelled 
up and down the Grand canal looking for suit- 
able quarters. Of course Venice is dearer than 
most places in Italy, but we succeeded in get- 
ting excellent quarters at the Hotel Beau-Riv- 
age very reasonably. There a room cost Joe 
and Lou six francs a day, while I paid four. 
Cafe au lait with bread and butter, served in 
the room, cost twenty-five cents. At the Ris- 
toratore Panada on the Calle Specchieri, Nos. 
647 and 648, there is a restaurant which fur- 
nishes a remarkable variety of dishes and wines 
at prices which seem ridiculously cheap. If 
139 




X 



■J 
> 

u 



c 



they ordered sensibly two persons could spend 
a dollar for dinner at this restaurant, without 
wine, but they would have to have "a great ap- 
petite. Birds and fish of all varieties are spe- 
cialties here and they have an excellent Italian 
champagne also, which is fairly dry, and costs 
only about sixty cents a bottle. At this mo- 
ment I cannot be sure of the spelling of the 
name, but if you ask for a bottle of Cogneg- 
liano I am quite sure that you will get what I 
mean. 

Your guide books will tell you more about 
Venice than I could possibly find room for here, 
so there is no use of my attempting to go into 
the beauties and charms of this peculiar city. 
In its way it is perhaps the most interesting city 
in Europe. 

Naturally you can't bicycle in Venice and Lou 
regretted much that we hadn't sent at least one 
trunk on from Milan. Hers was the only short 
skirt we saw while there, and while one gets 
more or less used to being stared at, too much 
of that sort of thing becomes trying to the 
nerves. Lou didn't say much about it, but it 
was easy to see what she thought on the sub- 
ject, for one day she stamped her foot in vexa- 
tion and almost with tears in her eyes ex- 
claimed: 

"I wouldn't care so much if I was only sure 
these people knew I was cycling. What I'm 
afraid of is that some idiot will go and think 
that I am a new woman, or some awful thing 
like that." 

141 




A STREET WHERE ONE WOULD NEED AN AQUATIC BICYCLE. 



However, as we spent most of our time out 
of doors in gondolas, the length of the skirt 
didn't make much difference after all except in 
crossing the Place St. Marc on our way to the 
restaurant or while out on shopping tours. 

We spent six days in Venice, and on October 
30 we returned to Mestre and set out on our 
return journey over the same route which we 
had taken on our way to Venice, with the ex- 
ception that we rode back by the way of Mira 
Vecchia instead of going back by Mirano. At 
Verona the weather had grown so cold that we 
took the train back to Milan, where we spent 
another week at the Hotel St. Michel. 

This time instead of taking pension, or 
board, we lived on the European plan. Joe and 
Lou got an excellent room with an electric 
light for five lire a day, while I did fairly well 
for two lire less. We breakfasted and dined at 
the hotel or outside, as we saw fit, and found 
that there was not much difference in expense 
between this plan and the one we had adopted 
before of paying seven francs a day, which cov- 
ered everything. 

At the end of the week as the weather grew 
no warmer, we determined to take the train to 
Genoa, and cycle along the Mediterranean from 
Genoa to Nice. Although we took the train, in 
the proper season one can cycle very easily from 
Milan to Genoa by the way of Pavia, Tortona 
Cassano Spinola, Ronco Scrivia and Busalla. 
The distance from Milan to Tortona is forty-six 
kilometers; from Tortona to Genoa it is sev- 
enty-five kilometers. 

143 




CHAPTER XIII. 



On To Ventimiglia. 

N LEAVING MILAN we had 
sent our trunks on by the grande 
Vitesse, so when we left the train 
r on arriving at Genoa, we fastened 
our baggage as usual to our ma- 
chines and started to ride through the city in 
quest of a hotel which would prove to our lik- 
ing. We haan't ridden fifty yards, however, be- 
fore a very tall man of sombre mien, wearing a 
tall hat and a long, single-breasted coat, but- 
toned up high about the neck, and reaching 
nearly to his ankles, stepped into the middle 
of the narrow street, and holding before him 
a kind of mace he carried, bade us politely 
enough to dismount. 

This individual was one of tuose peculiarly 
garbed policemen whom one sees in the large 
cities of Italy. Tfie officer spoke only a few 
words of French, but he made us understand 
that it is forbidden to ride the wheel in Genoa. 
Later on, when we inquired why, we were told 
that nearly all the traffic in the city passes 
144 



through the single main thoroughfare, which is 
badly paved and very narrow. Of course, we 
were surprised, but there was nothing else to 
do but accept the situation gracefully. We 
pushed our wheels before us to the Hotel des 
Etrangers, which is situated on the Rue 
Carioli, quite in the centre of Genoa. It is an 
excellent hotel, with electric lights and ele- 
vators and is heated throughout, but Lou 
thought nine lire was rather high for the 
room to which she and Joe were shown. The 
proprietor was a most agreeable man and ad- 
mitted very frankly that the hotels in general 
in Genoa were dearer than anywhere else in 
Italy, and then added that since we were mem- 
bers of the French Touring Club he would 
make the price of the room six lire. I also had 
an excellent room for a lira less. The restau- 
rant was a la carte and the cuisine very good, 
and for the first time in many days we were 
able to get a sirloin steak, which would have 
been a credit to any first-class American res- 
taurant. 

The next morning, as bicycles were tabooed, 
we took a carriage for a drive through the 
town. I think the carriage, which made a very 
good appearance, was forty cents an hour. We 
were more anxious to see the house where 
Columbus was born than anything else. Hav- 
ing seen that and the fortifications and other 
points of interest in the city, we went back to 
the hotel and had our bicycles taken to the sta- 
145 




YOU CAN'T CYCLE IN GENOA; COLUMBUS DIDN'T. 



tion. We did this because everyone agreed that 
the first sixteen kilometers from Genoa, or as 
far as Voltri on our way to Nice, was an abom- 
inable route for wheelmen. Therefore, we took 
the train which left Genoa about two o'clock, 
for Voltri. The train ran along close to the 
shore of the Mediterranean, and whenever it 
stopped, for any reason, the passengers amused 
themselves by throwing coppers out of the win- 
dows for the children of the fishermen who 
swarmed the beach, to scramble for. 

In about half an hour we were at Voltri and 
had mounted our wheels and begun our ride to 
Nice. The distance from Nice to Genoa is in 
the neighborhood of 175 kilometers. That after- 
noon we rode a little more than thirty kilome- 
ters to Savona, a town of about 30,000 inhabi- 
tants where we found very good accommoda- 
tions and courteous treatment at the Hotel 
Roma. Our rooms here were four and five lire, 
respectively, and the prices at the restaurant 
were about the same as usual. 

On the morning of November 8 the weather 
was simply perfect. The air was warm and 
balmy without being too hot, though in riding 
in the middle of the day we suffered a little from 
the heat, being clad too warmly. The road 
from Savona to Spotorno was simply a bicycling 
dream. On our left lay the beach washed by 
the blue waters of the Mediterranean. On our 
right rose great hills that sheltered us complete- 
ly from the cold winds of the north. The scen- 
147 



ery, people, and their habitations were all pic- 
turesque, and everything about us was full of 
interest. The road itself was good, and, taken 
altogether, I don't think that one could bicycle 
anywhere under more perfect conditions than 
along this route from Genoa to Nice. But, 
alas! for us, it was not to be, and as we bowled 
along, all of us in the highest spirits, Lou de- 
clared without the slightest idea that her pre- 
diction was so soon to come true, that the only 
fear that she had was that it was just too lovely 
to last. At Spotorno, we dismounted from our 
wheels, and leaning them up against the side 
of the road, went down on the beach to see a 
score of fishermen, and women, for that mat- 
ter, draw in a great net which had been set 
over night. The net was of enormous propor- 
tions, and stretched out to sea for a distance of 
about a hundred yards, and took at least a 
quarter of an hour to be drawn in. At last 
when the final meshes were drawn upon the 
beach, it was seen that the catch was a poor 
one, as there were not more than a bushel bas- 
ket full of small fish to reward so many fishers 
for their labor. 

Spotorno was perhaps the prettiest village 
we saw on our ride along the Mediterranean. It 
is delightfully situated at the base of two great 
hills, which slope down towards it gradually, 
leaving it charmingly land-locked on all sides 
from which a blast of cold air might possibly 
come. The houses, and the gardens about them. 
14S 



are attractive, and the people kind and hospit- 
able. Along the beach were scores of fishing 
boats, showing that the fishing thereabouts 
must be good. Undoubtedly one could live in 
Spotorno, or in fact, in any of these Italian vil- 
lages for about seventy-five cents a day, and be 
regarded as a millionaire. As we contemplated 
the natural beauties of the place, we couldn't 
help thinking how any one who wanted to 
withdraw from the noise and bustle of the 
world, and put aside the cares of life tempo- 
rarily, might do well to resort to some such 
sequestered nook. Here one could find perfect 
rest and quiet. Surrounded by plenty of 
books, one would have no lack of time to read. 
Here, too, a knowledge of the Italian language 
could be acquired and no better place could be 
imagined for the finishing of some literary 
effort. For sport, one would have to depend on 
fishing, swimming, bicycling and tennis. Be- 
sides one could wheel to Monte Carlo and Nice 
by passing only one night somewhere on the 
road, or, in fact, a good wheelman could make 
the trip in one day. 

Two or three kilometers beyond Spotorno we 
had other things to occupy our thoughts, for in 
going through the town of Noli, Joe's hind tire 
picked up a tack or nail which had doubtless 
worked loose from the wooden shoe of some 
Italian peasant. It made a good sized hole, and 
it was soon evident that Joe could do no more 
riding until that tire was repaired. It was a 
149 



single tube American tire, but when we tried 
to repair it we could make no headway, as we 
could not force the mushroom-shaped bit of 
rubber into the hole, and found, moreover, that 
our glue had dried up. Fortunately, however, 
although it was Sunday, we found that a train 
was due in about half an hour, which would 
take us on to Finalmarina, nine kilometers fur- 
ther on, where there was a man who repaired 
bicycles. At this town we found the bicycle re- 
pair shop to be in charge of Emanuel Maggi, 
who, in reply to our dictionary Italian, looked 
confident and assured us that he could repair 
the tire easily, though he had never seen one 
like it before. Later on in the afternoon he was 
just as confident as ever, but hadn't made any 
headway with the tire or with his work. Fin- 
ally, he said it would be necessary for us to 
stay all night. 

Lou didn't like this idea, and said she'd bet 
he would charge us for sitting up all night with 
a sick tire. By noon the next day he sent word 
to the hotel that he'd finished his work and we 
all got ready to go down to the shop to con- 
gratulate him. 

Finalmarina' s hotel is not such a bad one. 
It is in the centre of the town, and is known as 
the Grande Hotel Garibaldi. We had ordered 
a la carte, and found things reasonable, and 
now on getting word from the bicycle man that 
he was ready for us, we called for our bill and 

150 



found that the rooms were only marked at two 
and three lire respectively. 

At the bicycle shop we found an admiring 
crowd gathered, who were watching Signor 
Maggi careering around the Square on Joe's 
wheel, just to show his countrymen that he 
could repair anything in the tire line, if it 
did come from America. That tire certainly 
did stand up, but what he had done to it we 
shall never know, even in the light of subse- 
quent events. 

The tire had been a new one when we left 
Milan. It now looked as if it had been ridden 
across the Rocky Mountains. Over the point 
where the nail had entered he had glued on 
several layers of rubber, and over this he had 
wound several yards of white cloth, all of 
which was fastened down with a piece of red 
flannel. Signor Maggi explained that if the tire 
didn't have a relapse after being ridden two or 
three hours we could remove these outside 
bandages. He then charged us eight lire for his 
work and said good morning and prepared to 
receive the congratulations of his friends. 

The appearance of Joe's tire certainly wasn't 
calculated to inspire confidence in any one, but 
we mounted and started on all the same. For 
something more than fifteen kilometers we rode 
along all right, the wheeling and the scenery 
being almost equal to that which I have al- 
ready described. As we were approaching Al- 
benga, however, Lou and I, who were riding on 
151 



ahead to warn Joe of any obstructions in the 
path, which might prove fatal to his already 
demoralized tire, heard him behind using lan- 
guage. We rode back and found the tire gone, 
this time for good and all we feared. Signor 
Maggi, after making his repairs, had put the 
tire back on the wooden rim with little or no 
glue. As a consequence the friction had cut the 
rubber badly about the valve. It was only 
about three kilometers to Albenga, so Joe 
climbed on a passing omnibus with his wheel, 
while Lou and I rode. 

At Albenga we took luncheon at the Hotel 
Vittorrio, while a local bicycle professor tried 
to see what he could do with Joe's tire. He, 
too, thought he could fix it, but being a more 
honest man than Signor Maggi, frankly con- 
fessed his inability to do so, when we returned 
to the shop after luncheon. 




THE CYCLIST'S ENEMY 



152 




CHAPTER XIV. 



Forced to Forsake Our Wheels. 



HILE AT THE HOTEL we had 
engaged in conversation with 
an Italian army officer who 
spoke French, who told us that 
we would certainly be able to 
have the necessary repairs made at Oneglia, a 
city of 7,000 inhabitants, about forty kilometers 
further along on our journey. 

An hour later we were in a train on our way 
to Oneglia. As we rode on the cars we could 
see enough of the route along which we would 
have ridden on our bicycles, but for Joe's acci- 
dent, to make us all regret extremely that we 
were obliged to miss it. In fact, as far as we 
could judge, every bit of the way to Nice on 
the road which we had mapped out was as at- 
tractive as that part of it that we had already 
ridden. It was between four and five o'clock 
when we got to Oneglia, and as we were now 
nearing the French frontier, we found plenty of 
Italians ready to serve as interpreters for us 

153 



iii that language. As soon as we had stated our 
case, a consultation of all the bicycle professors 
of Oneglia was held, who. after a careful ex- 
amination of the tire and conferring among 
themselves, gravely announced that the tire 
was beyond their aid. Wnen we tried to buy a 
new tire they said they had none which could 
be mounted on a wooden rim, so we gave it up 
in despair and took the train that night at 
half-past seven for Nice. 

Ventimiglia, the town on the frontier of 
France and Italy, which the railroad goes 
through, was only about forty kilometers 
away. This was the first time we had crossed 
the frontier with our bicycles on the train, 
but we didn't have the trouble we anticipated. 
On the presentation of our cards of identity and 
the slips given us at the time of the entries of 
the machines into Italy, we were passed 
through all right, although the official in charge 
said it would be unnecessary for him to take 
the time to write out a receipt to the effect 
that we had taken our machines out of the 
country. When we insisted, however, he com- 
plied with a rather bad grace and the remark 
that it wouldn't be his fault if we lost our train. 
He said no question would ever come up about 
the duties on our machines not having been 
paid, but we told him that we owed it to the 
Touring Club of France, which was responsible 
for us, to have our receipt in proper form. 

On arriving in Nice, between ten and eleven 
154 



o'clock, we were all pretty tired, and went to 
the first hotel which we ran into on leaving the 
station, which happened to be the Hotel St. 
Louis. Still in Nice there is almost any number 
hotels at all prices, and if you don't care for 
hotel life, furnished lodgings can be had all 
over the city, which give very fair accommo- 
dations for from sixty francs a month up. The 
rooms which we had at the St. Louis were only 
up one flight, and were on the street. Five 
francs for Lou and Joe and four francs for 
me, with service and light included, was the 
price agreed upon. The morning after our ar- 
rival we found, to our consternation, that our 
trunks, which we had intrusted to Johnson & 
Son, in Milan, to be forwarded to us at Nice, 
had not yet arrived, although that was nearly a 
week ago. This was the more annoying, as 
we had agreed to pay more than five dollars 
in order to have them sent by the most rapid 
express. Joe had a brand new tire in his trunk, 
and was obliged to hire a wheel until its ar- 
rival. Lou, too, was annoyed, of course, at 
being obliged to go around in a short skirt, al- 
though that is so common at Nice that it at- 
tracts little or no attention. 

This delay, however, led to our taking one 
useless trip. One afternoon we rode over to 
Monte Carlo, thinking to have a look at the 
Casino there, but were politely informed that 
we could not enter in bicycle costume. Lou 
said she didn't see why a man couldn't lose just 
155 



as much money in a bicycle suit as he could in 
evening dress and that a short skirt might be 
an indication of a long pocketbook. This ride 
from Nice to Monte Carlo is a pretty hilly one, 
but is sufficiently picturesque to make it worth 
the while. It is less than twenty kilometers, 
anyway. 

On the third day we got our trunks, at last, 
so Joe had his tire and Lou had her dresses, 
and everyone was happy. 

I don't think that anything that I could write 
of our experiences in Nice could possibly add 
to that city's reputation as a popular winter re- 
sort. I can only say that we enjoyed ourselves 
there thoroughly and that it is a very pleasant 
city to bicycle in. I may add, too, that on a 
subsequent visit to Monte Carlo, in more con- 
ventional raiment, we looked in at the Casino 
and found that the bad luck which pursued us 
on the road attended us no longer. Joe won 
enough money playing roulette to buy more 
tires than he is ever likely to need in the rest 
of his natural life, while, if Lou puts her win- 
nings into hats, she will be able to start a 
millinery store when she gets back to New 
York. 

It had been our intention to return to Paris 
by the way of Marseilles, riding to that city 
from Nice on our wheels, but Joe received a 
cablegram which made it necessary for him to 
get home as soon as possible. For this reason 
we took the train direct from Nice to Paris. 
156 



We left at ten-thirty in the evening and were 
in Paris the following day by six o'clock in the 
afternoon. Lou's last words were, as she 
stepped into the train for Havre, at the St. 
Lazare station: 

"You may be sure that next summer you'll 
see me back in Europe for another tour, and in 
the meantime, I'm going to make Joe learn to 
repair his own tires." 

Lou's speaking of summer tours recalls a lit- 
tle trip which we three took in June of 1897. 
On this occasion Joe was very much pressed for 
time, and we had only two weeks in which 
to ride. In that time, however, we rode in 
France, Belgium, Holland and even had a lit- 
tle run in Germany. On this tour we met with 
no accidents of any sort, and rode a thousand 
kilometers without any of us being obliged to 
do more than have our tires blown up now 
and then. 

We left Paris about June 10th en route for 
Brussels, where the exposition was being held. 
As I have already said, in starting on a trip 
from Paris, one is apt to find the worst roads 
in the first day's ride from the city. For this 
reason, we decided to take the train to Laon, a 
little more than three hours' ride from Paris by 
rail. We left Paris from the Gare du Nord 
about noon. Laon is a town of about 14,000 in- 
habitants, and has a cathedral built in the 
thirteenth century, and an old tower and gate 
of the twelfth century. A beautiful view can 

158 



also be had from the ramparts above the town. 
We arrived at Laon so late in the afternoon 
that we decided not to stop to view the sights 
there, but to keep on instead to Vervins, a lit- 
tle more than twenty kilometers further on. 
You will have to take one or two hills on this 
route, but on the whole it isn't at all bad. At 
Vervins we went to the Hotel du Cheval Noir. 
This proved to be a very nice little hotel and 
we were soon well acquainted with our host, 
who seemed very much interested in us. Joe 
and Lou had an excellent room for two francs, 
while I paid the same for mine. The dinners 
were three francs each, with all the wine we 
could drink. 

The next morning it was pretty hot, but we 
started out gaily for La Capelle, where we had 
planned to breakfast. Before we negotiated the 
twenty-five or thirty kilometers which lay be- 
tween Vervins and this town, we realized that 
bicycling in the middle of a hot day was pretty 
serious business. However, on arriving at La 
Capelle, we went to the Hotel des Messageries, 
which had been recommended to us at Ver- 
vins. Here Madame Hergott ana her very 
charming daughter showed us every attention, 
Miss Hergott even putting her own room at 
Lou's disposition. Half an hour's rest made us 
all feel better, and when the dejeuner a la 
fourchette was announced we were prepared 
to do it ample justice. We all enjoyed our stay 
at La Capelle extremely, and our hostess was 
159 



very anxious to keep us over night, but we 
had determined to push on to Maubeuge, where 
we decided to spend the night. It was only 
about twenty-five kilometers to Maubeuge, 
which was a town of about nineteen thousand 
inhabitants. There we went to the Hotel du 
Grand Cerf. Here dinner, with wine, was, as 
usual, three francs, and we each paid 
two francs for our rooms. By the way of di- 
version that evening, we went to a cafe where 
there was a concert. 

On leaving Maubeuge we found the roads 
rather heavy with mud, and we were obliged 
to depend almost altogether on the side paths 
and in some cases even these were not too ride- 
able. It was also raining when we set out, but 
as Maubeuge is shut in in a sort of a valley, we 
rightly supposed that we would have clear 
weather after an hour's riding. After wheeling 
for about two hours we found ourselves on the 
Belgian frontier, where we were most politely 
received by two Belgian officers. We had left 
Paris in such a hurry that Joe and Lou hadn't 
had time to have their Touring Club cards 
properly made out and signed Dy the proper 
authority. However, the officials, as soon as 
tney had satisfied themselves that we were 
genuine tourists, allowed us to pass on without 
making any entry on their book at all, or with- 
out giving us any receipt of entry. Soon after 
crossing the frontier we found a path at the 
side of the road built exclusively for the use of 
160 



cyclists. It was a cinder track, and, being wet, 
was a bit heavy, but was a welcome relief from 
the riding we had been having, and by this 
time ought to be in perfect condition. 

At Mons, which is less than an hour's ride 
from the frontier, we stopped and had an ex- 
cellent breakfast at one of the cafes, which are 
many and easily found there. Starting on our 
way again, the rain which had been threatening 
tor some time, came down in earnest and at 
Soignie we took the train to Brussels. 

Brussels is a town which has a reputation for 
cheap living. However that may be from the 
point of view of the native, or the foreigners 
who reside there, it is certain that in an ex- 
position year the transient visitor will not be 
struck with this alleged characteristic of Bel- 
gium's capital. The hotels we tried were most 
of them expensive and didn't want to take you 
at all unless you took board as well as rooms. 
We finally secured very good rooms over Corde- 
man's restaurant, No. 2 Boulevard Anspach. 

We liked this restaurant as well as any we 
found in Brussels, and it was very convenient 
for us living in that way. Joe paid four francs 
for his room and I paid the same for mine. 
Every citizen of the country who rides a bi- 
cycle has to carry a great white enamel plaque 
bearing a number on his machine, and the 
rules governing cyclists are quite strict. One 
officious young policeman stopped me because 
I had a gong or a "sonnette" on my machine 

161 



instead of a bell or a "grelot" As I was a 
foreigner he didn't do anything more than give 
me a word of advice on the subject. Later on 
I asked an older policeman about this point, 
who told me that while the young officer might 
be technically right, he was evidently suffering 
from an attack of over-zeal. Joe also had an 
experience, being stopped by a policeman while 
coasting down a slight declivity near the ex- 
position grounds. He was informed that bi- 
cyclists are not allowed to coast in Brussels. 
There were certain streets, too, which it is 
against the city ordinance for cyclists to ride 
through. Of course the foreign rider is not 
obliged to register his machine or carry a big 
plaque with a number, unless he means to 
make a prolonged stay there. 

After several days in Brussels we started one 
afternoon for Antwerp, which is only two or 
three hours' ride from Brussels. Most of the 
way the road lies alongside of the canal, and 
much of it is shaded by great trees. Here, as 
almost everywhere else in Belgium and Hol- 
land, the road is level. This is one thing which 
makes cycling there easy and agreeable. Lou 
said that while she liked windmills and fields 
in the abstract, when one gets nothing but 
windmills and fields, with a few canals thrown 
in, in the way of scenery, it begins to grow a 
little monotonous 

Something which we noticed on our way to 
Antwerp was that as we neared that city the 

162 



bicyclists whom we met began to pass to our 
right, motioning us to take the left of the road. 
This seemed odd, as up to this point everybody 
had turned to the right. But the more we rode 
in Holland the less we were able to decide as 
to what the law of the road in that country is. 
We finally came to the conclusion that it was 
largely a matter of locality, and that in some 
parts of Holland you keep to the right, while 
in others you had to pass those whom you met 
on the left. We arrived in Antwerp on Sunday, 
and after riding through the city, went to the 
Grand Cafe Leopold. We ordered dinner on the 
terrace in front of the restaurant, and here we 
had an adventure which I will recount just as 
an instance of the strange experiences one 
meets with while touring. 



163 




CHAPTER XV, 



Incidents of Travel. 

i HE dinner was ordered and after 
we had waited an unreasonably 
long time for the soup to be served, 
Joe called to the waiter, who at 
first paid no attention, and then, 
turning to us, said, insolently, 
"Don't disturb me when I'm busy, besides you're 
not an orchestra paid to make music for me." 

The fellow's impudence was so astounding 
that at first we didn't know what to think. 
Then Joe went inside to interview the pro- 
prietor. The waiter followed him and continued 
his insolence in the hearing of his employer. In 
a moment the proprietor came out himself to 
take our order, and five minutes later the wait- 
er, in his street clothes, with a little package 
in his hand, came up to our table and made an 
address in Belgian French something to this 
effect: "For three long years I have worked 
here, and now you see me discharged for you, 
a foreigner. But I am a man, and my hands are 
hard, and my arm is strong. Your hand is soft, 

164 



your arm is weak. I go, but I will be revenged. 
You may sit here till long after midnight, but I 
will be on the watch from behind yonder tree." 

Nobody made any reply to the man, thinking 
that he was simply drunk, and supposing that 
the proprietor would take him back the next 
day. An hour later, however, Lou looked up 
and exclaimed: "There's that dreadful man 
now." And sure enough there he was, on the 
opposite corner, talking to a woman and ges- 
ticulating and pointing to us in an excited man- 
ner. 

A moment later he came up to the table 
again. This time with a stout stick, with its 
handle loaded with lead, under his arm. Again 
he made a little address, and oiien informed Joe 
that he was wanted at the police station. Still 
we paid no attention to the man, and he finally 
went away, only to return almost immediately, 
and this time with a policeman, who beckoned 
to Joe to leave the table and come out on the 
sidewalk. Instead of doing so, Joe sent for the 
proprietor, who said a word to the officer. The 
officer, proprietor and waiter then disappeared 
into the hotel. ±.ie next we saw of the man 
he came out of the side door alone with the 
policeman, who apparently was taking him off 
to the police station. 

However, the incident rather spoiled the din- 
ner and made Lou very nervous, and she 
dreamed all night that the waiter was at the 
front door waiting for us to come out in the 

165 



morning in order to knock Joe's brains out with 
his loaded cane. 

Lou's fears, however, were unfounded, as no- 
body was lying in wait for us when we mounted 
our wheels in front of the hotel in the morning. 
First we rode around Antwerp and took a look 
at some of the museums and two or three of the 
most interesting art galleries to be found there. 
For a continuance of the tour, we had planned 
that day to reach Eindhoven, which is more 
than fifty kilometers from Antwerp. On in- 
quiry, however, we found that the first half of 
this distance was a combination of continuous 
ascent and bad roads. We therefore decided to 
take the train to Turnhout, which left us only 
between twenty and thirty kilometers to ride 
in order to reach Eindhoven. It may be well 
for me to state here that in Belgium and Hol- 
land you cannot have your bicycle carried on 
the train as cheaply or with the same facility 
as you can in France. In France, as I have said, 
you pay two cents, and on handing your wheel 
to the porter have no further trouble with it. 
In Belgium, on the contrary, you pay fifteen 
cents for your wheel and the employees of the 
railroad company are not obliged to handle it 
at all. Therefore, you are supposed to roll your 
wheel out on the railroad platform yourself and 
are often forced to put it in the baggage car 
with your own hand. Of course, this rule may 
have been changed since I was in Belgium, as 
the Touring Club of Belgium was trying when 

166 



I was there last summer to get some concession 
from the State in this respect. The troubles of 
the Belgium cyclists were generally attributed 
to the fact that the Minister whose department 
has charge of the railroads of that country is a 
crusty old bachelor who doesn't approve of 
cycling. Most of the Belgian railroads being 
operated by the State, his word is law about the 
matter. 

However, we managed to get to Turnhout 
with our machines safe and sound, and then 
set out on our ride to Eindhoven, which we 
reached shortly before nightfall. The road be- 
tween Turnhout and Eindhoven was very good 
as far as wheeling went, and in cycling through 
the small villages we did not encounter the 
same rough cobble stones with which the 
streets of similar places in Prance are paved. 
The main streets of the villages in Holland are 
also paved, but with peculiar elongated slabs 
of stone which are laid together in much the 
same manner as the strips of wood on a bowling 
alley. In the interior of Holland one finds few 
persons who speak either French or English, 
and one's ingenuity and the comprehensiveness 
of one's dictionary are taxed to the utmost. 

On our arrival at Eindhoven we saw a dress- 
maker's sign in French and lost no time in call- 
ing on her to see whether she really was French 
or not. In this case she proved to be the real 
article, and after giving us such information as 
we desired, she directed us to the Hotel Post- 
167 



huis, which was kept by a widow with three or 
four daughters. The hotel was a model of 
neatness and comfort, and the mother and the 
daughters spoke with considerable facility such 
French as they had acquired at boarding school. 
You must not expect to travel in Holland, or m 
Belgium, as cheaply as you can in France or 
Italy, or even in Switzerland for that matter. 
At Eindhoven the charge was three francs for 
each person's lodging, whether one or two per- 
sons occupied the same room. The dinners were 
two francs fifty centimes for each person with- 
out wine. In Holland wine is dear and not par- 
ticularly good, but at Eindhoven we found for 
eight cents a large pony of cognac which far 
excelled anything we ever found elsewhere In 
Europe, even at one franc the thimbleful. 

The following day Lou made her record ride 
of one hundred kilometers. She said afterwards 
if she'd known that we were making her ride 
so far she would have been too tired to have 
finished the day's journey. From Eindhoven 
we rode through a succession of fields and 
windmills to Weert, where we breakfasted at 
the Hotel de Roos. The name of the man who 
keeps the hotel is E. Coenegracht. How Mr. 
Coenegracht is going to get rich we couldn't 
quite understand. But then it was none of our 
business. Here was his bill for our breakfast: 
Eight beers, one glass of bitters, three break- 
fasts, three coffees with cheese, eighty-six 
cents. This would have been cheap even for 

168 



Italy, but we didn't run across this sort of 
thing often in Holland. 

Leaving Weert, we passed through Maeseyck, 
and spent the night at Maastrick. We were 
now getting rather hurried, as we wanted to 
get back to Brussels in time to spend a day or 
two there. 

The next morning we rode to Valkenberg, 
where there are really plenty of hills and 
scenery. This district is known as the local 
Switzerland, and Valkenberg is a very popular 
summer resort. We were now so near the fron- 
tier of Germany that we decided to cross it and 
ride to Aix la Chapelle, to take a look at 
Charlemagne's tomb and some of the bits of the 
cross on which the Saviour was crucified. Any- 
way, they said they were bits of the cross, and 
it cost two francs apiece to see them, so I guess 
they were. Neither in entering Germany nor in 
crossing the frontier again, two hours later, 
were we molested at all by the customs officials. 
Riding back from Germany we rode for about 
an hour in Holland, and on the Belgium frontier 
we had a little adventure. 

At the custom house we showed our imper- 
fectly prepared cards of identity to a subordi- 
nate official, who told us that we could proceed. 
Lou and I rode on, while Joe stopped to ar- 
range something about his machine. Suppos- 
ing he was following us, we rode on about 
eight kilometers before we decided to wait for 
him. When he did catch up with us he told 

169 



us that he had had a great time with a higher 
official, who had come out and rebuked his sub- 
ordinate for having allowed us to pass. He 
told Joe that he wasn't a Frenchman — no one 
could ever hear Joe's accent and think for an 
instant that he was — and said that the fact that 
we had ridden on showed that there was some- 
thing irregular about us. With great difficulty 
Joe had persuaded the official to allow him to 
go on. The permission was accompanied by 
the information that he intended to wire custom 
officers at some point along our route to hold 
us up and examine all of our papers most care- 
fully. 

Lou said he needn't have taken all of that 
trouble, as the only thing irregular about Joe 
and me was our habits. As a matter of fact, 
we never heard of the matter again. That night 
we slept at Verviers, at the Hotel de l'Aigle 
Noir, 42 Place du Martyr. Here lodgings were 
30 cents for each person, and the restaurant, 
where we dined a la carte, was very reasonable. 
The following morning we breakfasted at 
Pepinster and then rode on to Rochefort, where 
we visited the famous grottoes, which are well 
worth seeing, and attract people from all parts 
of Europe. Les Grottes de Han are said to be 
finer even than the grotto of Rochefort. They 
are near by, but we didn't have time to go there, 
and as the weather began to be bad, we took 
the train that afternoon for Brussels. While 
in Brussels we rode out to the scene of the 

170 





WHERE WELLINGTON SLEPT ON THE EVE OF 
NAPOLEON'S WATERLOO. 



battle of Waterloo, a trip which no one who 
visits Brussels should fail to take. The wheel- 
ing out and back was very good, and the round 
trip is only a matter of about thirty kilometers. 
A ride out to Aywaille and to the Bois de la 
Cambre are also well worth while. 

After twenty-four hours in Brussels we had 
just time to ride back to Paris over the route 
by which we had come before the two weeks 
were up. It was in the following September 
that we set out on our ride to Venice, whicn has 
already been described. 



172 




CHAPTER XVI. 



European Traveling as seen by Mr. Luce 

R. ROBERT LUCE, of Boston, 
who has traveled much in Eu- 
rope and who lectures on 
"Switzerland," "From Monte 
Carlo to Venice," "Rome," "The 
Bay of Naples," and other kindred subjects, has 
published a little book, entitled "Going 
Abroad?" which comprises much useful infor- 
mation for tourists generally, from which I cull 
the following extracts, with the permission of 
the author. Mr. Luce's book, which contains 
about 200 pages, covers nearly every branch of 
European travel and can be had by addressing 
Robert Luce, 68 Devonshire St., Boston, or 
through your newsdealer. The price of the 
book is 50 cents, paper, or $1 in cloth. 

Mr. Luce makes a reference to an organiza- 
tion for women, which I have already men- 
tioned as existing in Boston, and adds some 
comments of his own as to the conditions under 
which unprotected women travel abroad. On 
these subjects Mr. Luce says: 
173 



In the mere matter of travel Europe offers 
far more comfort and convenience than Amer- 
ica to women journeying aione or in parties 
without men. They need never touch their lug- 
gage unless they choose. At hotels and rail- 
way stations they will always be more courte- 
ously treated than men — and that is saying a 
good deal. And the "unprotected female" needs 
no protection. English women think nothing 
of taking their vacations on the Continent, and 
a journey from New York to Los Angeles pre- 
sents more terrors than one from London to 
Constantinople or Cairo. 

To make foreign travel still easier, there ex- 
ists an admirable organization called the Wo- 
men's Rest Tour Association, which may be ad- 
dressed at 264 Boylston Street, Boston. "Its 
object is to furnish women who wish to travel 
for purposes of rest and study with such prac- 
tical advice and encouragement as shall enable 
them to do so independently, intelligently and 
economically. It is not designed for the con- 
venience of women who organize or conduct 
large parties." And it may be added that it is 
in no way a money-making institution, there 
being neither salaries nor dividends for any- 
body in it. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe is the presi- 
dent, and other well-known New England wo- 
men are on the board of officers. It publishes 
a handbook of travel, entitled "A Summer in 
England" (to which I would here give credit for 
some of the information hereafter given) ; is- 

174 



sues yearly a revised list of accredited lodg- 
ings and pensions over all Europe, with details 
concerning prices and accommodations; pub- 
lishes an occasional paper called The Pilgrim 
Scrip, devoted to travel and life abroad; ex- 
changes introductions between members who 
desire company; lends money from its travel- 
ing fund (under careful supervision) to provide 
vacation trips for women greatly in need of 
rest and change; advises in regard to travel; 
lends from its library of Baedeker guide-books 
for the European trip; and in minor ways ac- 
complishes its laudable purpose. The fee for 
the first year's membership is $2; annual fee 
thereafter, $1; life membership, $25. If but a 
small part of the wealthy American women who 
get enjoyment out of a trip abroad would, by 
becoming life members of this association, aid it 
in helping their less fortunate sisters to the 
same enjoyment, its sphere of usefulness could 
be greatly widened. 

Speaking of the difficulty of securing berths 
on ocean steamers during the summer season, 
Mr. Luce says: 

From November to April there is usually 
plenty of room, and travelers to whom crossing 
is an old story frequently take no more precau- 
tions than they would to secure a berth In a 
sleeping car for Chicago or St. Louis. In the 
winter, payment for a single berth usually se- 
cures a whole stateroom to yourself, and you 
have practically the pick of the boat. Some- 

175 



times on the smaller boats there will not be 
half a dozen first cabin passengers. 

From the point of view of both economy and 
comfort, then, it is wiser if practicable to travel 
when the winter rates are in force. The fear 
of stormy weather doubtless deters many peo- 
ple from doing this, but the fact is that though 
the chances of severe storms are greater in win- 
ter than in summer, they are not enough 
greater to cut any figure with those who cross 
repeatedly. This matter of storms is largely 
one of luck. 

Mr. Luce sizes up the climatic condition of 
various parts of Europe as follows: 

Save in such sheltered spots as San Remo or 
Ventimiglia, the scenery of Italy is naturally 
at its worst in winter, for then the landscape 
is brown and bare. It is at its best in April 
and May, before the sun has begun to burn up 
things. June is a charming month at Venice, 
though some of its days are uncomfortably 
warm. In mid-summer the climate is much like 
that of the United States, frequently too hot for 
sight-seeing, yet with many comfortable 
periods. Few of the army of American tourists 
then go south of Florence, but European trav- 
elers, and especially Germans, think nothing of 
visiting Rome in July or August, and I have 
met people who declared they suffered riot the 
slightest inconvenience at Naples in dog-days. 

The notion that Rome must not be visited in 
summer on account of the malaria in the Cam- 

176 



pagna is no longer supported by those in a posi- 
tion to speak with authority. Of course it is 
dangerous to promenade after dark on the 
Campagna, just as it is in a Western river bot- 
tom, or anywhere else that malaria abounds, 
but tourists do not promenade on thg Cam- 
pagna after dark, nor do they drive across it 
after dark, as they often did before the time of 
railroads, when I suspect it was that Rome got 
its bad name as a summer resort. It does not 
yet deserve a good name, but it is no worse 
than our Southern States in the summer 
months, and if a tourist cannot well go south 
of Florence at any other time, there is little 
except the dread of perspiration to keep him 
from going in July or August. 

The Italian summer is much like that of Vir- 
ginia or Kentucky, comfortable enough, but less 
attractive than the spring. 

Switzerland, for the passing tourist, is of 
course to be visited in summer, and in August 
rather than in June or July, if any mountain 
climbing is to be done, for while the snows are 
melting in early summer, the heights are the 
more dangerous. In September the air gets 
chilly and the shortening of the days is em- 
phasized by the deep valleys. Many foreigners 
pass the winter about Lake Geneva, particu- 
larly at its eastern end, and there are a few 
winter resorts at high altitudes, almost wholly 
frequented by invalids for whose needs a pe- 
culiar climate is desirable; but to the ordinary 
traveler Switzerland in winter is dreary. 

177 



Germany's climate is much like that of New 
England and ine Middle States, with plenty of 
snow and with skating a favorite amusement. 
Yet, though cold weather prevails, people who 
have passed winters in Germany and also in 
Italy, say they prefer Germany because the 
houses are warmly built and well provided with 
stoves. 

Holland and Belgium are very cold in winter, 
and see few tourists at that season. 

Athens has an equable climate, which in time 
is going to make it one of the most popular 
winter resorts on the Mediterranean. With the 
sea south of it, and hills rising to mountains 
behind, it has a situation midway that of an 
island and a continent. The spring and autumn 
there are charming; snow falls in winter only 
once or twice in years; fogs are rare. The 
summers are long, but the winds coming over 
the Aegean temper Us heats. 

Southern Spain is much like Southern Italy 
in winter. Water rarely freezes at Gibraltar. 
Oranges may be picked from the trees about 
Cadiz, Jerez and Seville in February; but Gra- 
nada, surrounded by mountains, is apt to be 
chilly, and not long after leaving Cordova on 
the journey toward the north the mercury be- 
gins to drop. At Madrid snowdrifts in winter 
are not uncommon and the climate is like that 
of a city in our Northern States. All of Spain 
is very warm in summer, so that the best time 
for traveling tnrough it is in the spring or fall. 

178 



Morocco and Algiers should certainly be vis- 
ited in winter. Egypt is now visited by throngs 
in the late winter and early spring, but not 
many people go or stay there after April. Like- 
wise the Holy Land and the Far East are best 
visited in winter or early spring. 

If, then, the traveler had the time and money 
to change his climate like the birds, he would 
attain the maximum of comfort if he passed 
January and February in Northern Africa; 
March in Palestine and Turkey; April and May 
in Italy, Southern France and Spain; June in 
Paris and England; July and August in Switz- 
erland, or Norway, Sweden and Russia; Sep- 
tember in Germany; October in Austria; No- 
vember in Greece; December in Sicily. Not 
that these are positively the best months for 
each country named, but that this might make 
the best circular tour for a year, from the 
climatic point of view. 

Some of the principal sporting events, as 
well as others of interest, in the musical and 
social world, are thus summarized: 

In Paris the Grand Prix is' run on a Sunday 
early in June. 

The Oxford-Cambridge boat race is rowed on 
the Thames near London, usually in March. 
The "eights' week" at Oxford comes in the 
middle of May; the Henley regatta late in June 
or July. 

The cricket match between Oxford and Cam- 
bridge is played near the end of June, and be~ 

179 



tween Eton and Harrow usually in July. As 
with us, football is a fall sport, but lasts later, 
games being played up to Christmas time. The 
Oxford-Cambridge match in 1896 took place 
Dec. 9. 

Oxford is at its best during the Trinity term, 
from the middle of May to the middle of July; 
and Commemoration Week, usually the second 
or third in June, is the gayest. 

The salons at Paris — there are now two of 
them — open in May and are kept open for some 
weeks. The Royal Academy in London is open 
from the first Monday in May to the first Mon- 
day in August. 

When there is a Wagnerian festival at Bay- 
reuth, it comes in mid-summer, but if you want 
to go you must write for tickets weeks and even 
months ahead; even then you may not get 
them. A letter addressed to the management 
at Bayreuth will procure the necessary in- 
formation. 

The fountains at Versailles generally play 
between 4 and 5 of the afternoon on the first 
Sunday of each month from May to October; 
those of St. Cloud at the same hour on the sec- 
ond Sunday of the month. The spectacle at 
Versailles costs about $2,000 and is well worth 
taking much pains to see. 

The flower festival in the Bois de Boulogne 
at Paris comes about the time of the Grand 
Prix, early in June. 

The Paris Exposition will open April 15 and 
close Nov. 5, 1900. 

180 



As to the ocean trip and the attendant ex- 
penses, Mr. Luce has this to say: 

At the end of a trip every passenger on a 
trans-Atlantic steamer is supposed to give fees. 
It is an unwritten law, but as binding as the 
English constitution. The amount to be given 
always worries the novice, who dreads giving 
too little, and usually begrudges giving too 
much. If you give $2.50 to the man who waits 
on you at table, and a like amount to the man 
or woman who takes care of your stateroom, he 
or she will be perfectly satisfied; that much and 
no more is expected; if more is given, you are 
thought generous, but no benefit accrues to you, 
and often but slight benefit to the recipient, for 
frequently the receipts of all the stewards are 
pooled at the end of the trip and then divided 
equitably. So, in making a large gift, you but 
present so much money to the whole body of 
stewards. 

For one, I see no reason why a head steward 
should be feed. It is virtually a duty to fee the 
under stewards, because their wages are small, 
in the expectation that they will receive enough 
from passengers to make their earnings reason- 
able. This is not the case with the head steward 
or anybody else on the ship. The men who fre- 
quent the smoking room usually make up a 
purse for the smoking room steward, but that 
is wholly a matter of generosity. The deck 
steward usually receives a small free from those 
who have frequently called upon him for serv- 
181 



ices, and the passenger who is seasick usually 
calls upon him a good deal. 

These hints for traveling on the Continent 
also come from the pen of the same author: 

The only important difference between a first 
and second class compartment is that the first- 
class has either six or eight seats to a compart- 
ment, three or four looking front and three 
or four back — the second-class has ten, one 
more on each side. When all the seats are 
taken this is a slight disadvantage against the 
second-class, but that very rarely happens, not 
once in fifty rides. Indeed, there are seldom 
more than four people in a first or second-class 
compartment — or perhaps I would better say it 
is generally possible to find a compartment, if 
you wish, that has not more than two or three 
occupants. In several months' journeying, two 
of us had second-class compartments to our- 
selves more than two-thirds of the time, and 
never tipped the guard. That, however, might 
not be the case on the main lines of travel in 
July and August. 

In cost the proportions, averaged from fares 
in many countries, are: First-class, one dollar; 
second-class, seventy- three cents; third-class, 
fifty-two cents. In other words, speaking in 
round numbers, first-class costs a third more 
than second; third-class a third less than sec- 
ond, and half as much as first. 

The berths in European sleeping cars are 
even more uncomfortable than ours, and their 
182 



cost makes it safe to lay clown the rule never 
to travel by night if you can possibly help it. 
Some roads have first-class and second-class 
sleeping compartments. Bean tells me he has 
tried both, and finds no difference except in the 
price. 

Usually tickets for the through trains are ten 
per cent, higher than those for accommodation 
trains, but the time saved is worth ten times the 
extra cost. What we should call the "limited" 
train from Rome to Naples takes five and one- 
fourth hours; the express, six and one-fourth, 
and the accommodation, eleven hourse. The 
distance is one hundred and sixty-two miles. 

Bean, who always goes second-class, tells me 
that once he kept a record of every ticket 
bought while journeying twenty-seven hundred 
miles by short stages, and found he had aver- 
aged to pay $0.0266 a mile. On the same jour- 
ney first-class fares would have averaged 
$0.0364 a mile; third-class, $0,189. On any one 
road, the price per mile is the same whether 
you travel five miles, fifty, or five hundred, ex- 
cept in the few regions where the zone system of 
rates prevails, and the ordinary traveler does 
find those. 

The price of tickets is printed on the time- 
tables hung up in the station, and in the time- 
table books that are issued. 

Children travel free up to the age of three 
years throughout the greater part of the Conti- 
nent; in Austria and Switzerland, up to two 

183 



years. In Norway and Sweden half price is 
charged between three and twelve; in Austria 
and Switzerland, between two and ten. In Ger- 
many two children under ten travel on one 
ticket; a single child pays third-class fare to 
travel second; second-class to travel first. In 
Belgium three-quarters fare is charged for chil- 
dren from three to eight; in France, half fare 
from three to seven. When you are buying a 
ticket for a child, it is always advisable to let 
the ticket seller see the child. 

From his experiences in traveling by boat 
Mr. Luce has arrived at the following deduc- 
tions: 

First-class tickets come much nearer being 
necessary on European steamboats than on 
European railways. As a rule the best accom- 
modations on the boats are none too good. The 
best known boats, those crossing the English 
Channel, would not, for the most part, be tol- 
erated on lines of equal importance in America; 
they draw only six or seven feet of water, which 
is one reason why they are so sure to make 
passengers seasick when the water is the least 
bit rough. But don't think that inevitable. I 
have crossed the channel when from one side 
to the other we could not see anything that 
properly could be called a wave. 

On river and lake boats, before you get your 
ticket, wait to see what parts of the boat are 
allotted to first and second-class passengers, re- 
spectively. For an all-day ride, such as that 

184 



on the Rhine, the freedom of the whole boat 
given by a first-class ticket is in any event de- 
sirable. On the Lake of Thun the second-class 
accommodations are for sight seeing and pleas- 
ure much superior to those allotted the first- 
class passengers, who usually crowd forward 
into the second-class seats, in spite of their 
tickets; but on the Lake of Brienz, only a mile 
or so away, the second-class accommodations 
are miserable. On Lake Geneva it costs one 
dollar and fifty cents to go from end to end of 
the lake first-class; sixty cents second class, and 
in pleasant weather the second-class seats are 
better, being ahead of the smoke-stack and giv- 
ing the finer views. 

Referring to bicycling, Mr. Luce is authority 
for the following statements: 

There are many flinty roads in England, es- 
pecially south of London, and though France 
has the best highways in the world, they are 
made of flinty material and demand good tires 
to stand the strain. Many riders have found it 
desirable to reinforce their tires by a strip of 
rubber going round the tire where the most 
wear comes, say an inch and a half wide. It 
may cost $3 to have this put on. Only the rash 
wheelman will make a foreign trip without a 
tire repair outfit, or at least a supply of tape 
to cover a puncture till a repair shop can be 
reached. Yet many a returning rider will re- 
port having gone through Europe without a 
single puncture. 

185 



The brick roads of Holland are disliked by 
some wheelmen — praised by others. As in Hol- 
land more than in most other countries, the 
villages and rural districts are the more pic- 
turesque and the less spoiled by the quick-tour 
people, and as there are absolutely no hills to 
climb, it is surely worth the wheelman's atten- 
tion. "The roads of Spain," declares one bi- 
cycler, "are good, as a rule, though not equal 
to those in France and Italy. A trip through 
any one of our States would be a more formid- 
able undertaking than one through Spain. Of 
course we attracted universal attention, but it 
was always accompanied by courteous respect." 
Normandy is another delightful region for bi- 
cycling, and Touraine is declared a paradise for 
wheelmen. In Northern Prance the climate in 
summer is excellent for the sport, being much 
less wet than that of England, and averaging 
considerably cooler than that of the United 
States. 

A favorite trip is from Rotterdam or Amster- 
dam up the Rhine Valley to Switzerland, and 
then from Geneva straight to Paris and the sea. 
Home-coming wheelmen who had just made 
this trip told me, however, that if they were 
to do it again, they would reverse it, so as to 
slide down the Rhine Valley rather than climb 
it. Such a trip from New York to New York, 
with first-class passage on a slow line, could 
handily be made in two months, at a total cost 
of from two to three hundred dollars, according 

186 



to the hotel accommodations demanded. By- 
crossing second-class and economizing on the 
other side, it can be done for $150 or even less, 
but most people would not enjoy what they 
would get for an expenditure of under $200. 

The postal systems abroad leave little per- 
plexity for the bicycle tourist in the matter of 
luggage. He is almost sure to want more than 
he can well carry on his wheel, but large par- 
cels are sent by post at comparatively slight 
cost, and a valise can be mailed with the cer- 
tainty that it will reach your destination be- 
fore you can get there on your wheel, unless 
you are to go but a very short distance. The 
notion of mailing a heavy valise for 20 cents 
or so strikes Americans with a force that they 
remember when they get home and wonder 
whether our own postal department does for us 
quite all it might. 

Referring again to the fee system the writer 
says: 

If the chambermaid does for you anything 
outside her routine work, she should get a fee, 
always small; otherwise, ignore her when she 
lies in wait for you as you descend the hotel 
stairs the last time. 

The declaration of too many tourists that 
you must fee everybody in a European hotel is 
all nonsense. The porter and the waiter are 
the indispensables, and so with the baggage 
porter, if you have trunks or let him black 
your boots. The others are mere charities. 

187 



As to amounts, the general rule is ten per 
cent, of the bill if you stay but one night or 
take a single meal. This applies whether the 
bill is twenty cents or two dollars or twenty- 
dollars. A penny in the shilling is all that 
English waiters expect; ten centimes (or two 
cents) in the franc all that French waiters ex- 
pect. Where a hotel bill is above ^wo dollars, 
a percentage as low as five per cent, may be 
given without surprise. On paying a bill of five 
dollars at a hotel it would be the usual thing 
to give the waiter twenty cents, the portier 
twenty cents, and the chambermaid five cents. 
On paying eight dollars, you might give no 
more and no comment would be even looked; 
or you might make it thirty cents for the 
waiter, the same for the portier, and five or 
ten cents for the chambermaid. 

Never pay any fees until your bih is pre- 
sented. You are not expected to dole out the 
pennies or francs from meal to meal, or, indeed, 
at any time before you go away. 

Look at it purely as a matter of business. If 
you haven't the change, make the waiter or the 
porter or whoever you want to fee, get your 
money changed, and give what you meant to 
give, no more. In an American hotel that 
would be thought stingy; abroad it is thought 
the natural thing. 

The idea that even servants in private houses 
must be feed is the most repugnant of all to 
American instincts. Yet go to an ninglish man- 

188 



sion of rank for even a stay from Saturday to 
Monday, and you are expected to remember the 
butler and the footman to the tune of a dollar 
or so. 

In pensions, ten per cent, of the bills would 
be an unusual distribution. If you stay several 
weeks, five per cent, will be a great plenty, and 
two or three per cent, is probably nearer the 
common thing. 

Cab drivers are usually made happy by ten 
per cent., though in such a place as Naples, 
where the prescribed fare is abnormally low 
(fourteen cents), to give a lira, twenty cents, 
is frequent. 

In museums and galleries, fees of ten cents 
predominate. It is always safe to start on that; 
if more is the custom, don't fear that you will 
not be told of it. 

Mr. Luce's experiences with the cab system 
in Europe as he has found it is thus ex- 
plained: 

In the cities the cab and omnibus play a 
much more important part than on this side of 
the water. Cab hire is ridiculously cheap on 
the Continent, and all well-to-do people, natives 
as well as foreigners, make habitual use of the 
cab. The prescribed rates are to be found on 
a card in every vehicle, and therefore no ad- 
vance bargain is necessary so long as you keep 
inside the city limits; but plan an excursion 
into the country and a bargain in advance 
should always be made. The charge is almost 

189 



invariably according to the nature of the 
vehicle or the distance traveled — not in pro- 
portion to the number of occupants. Two peo- 
ple, and often three, can ride as cheap as one 
person, but since four or more people require 
a larger cab or two horses, there is a larger 
fare. It is the invariable custom to fee the 
driver — five cents being the average tip on short 
drives. In Naples, where the regulations let 
the drivers charge only fourteen cents to go 
anywhere in the city limits, a lira (twenty 
cents), would usually be given to the driver, 
but if you gave him only sixteen or eighteen 
cents he would not seriously demur. Through- 
out most of Europe you may reckon on giving 
twenty to thirty cents for a cab fare, with four 
or five cents as pourboire. 

How exact Mr. Luce may be in the details I 
cannot say, but he gives the following informa- 
tion as to certain articles which an American 
may have with him and find dutiable in various 
ccuntries: 

Dutiable goods in Great Britain are tobac- 
co, wines, liquors, tea, coffee, cocoa and Florida 
water. American reprints of English works 
and copyright music are absolutely confiscated. 
Firearms and ammunition cannot be landed in 
Ireland, unless declared to customs and will 
then be detained until a magistrate's warrant 
to carry them has been granted. 

In France, tobacco, wines and liquors are 
subject to duty. Matches are strictly prohibited 

190 



and liable to confiscation, as also tobacco, ex- 
cept small quantities for personal use. House- 
hold goods and wearing apparel admitted free, 
with but few if any questions asked. The pen- 
alty for false declarations is heavy. 

In Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium 
the only articles subject to duty which travelers 
would be likely to carry are tobacco and spirits, 
and on these the duty is trifling. 

These reflections on shopping in Europe may 
prove of interest to some travelers: 

It is chiefly by reason of specialties that 
European shopping can rightfully attract Amer- 
ican buyers, not alone because special applica- 
tion to any one industry by a large part of the 
people of a locality is sure to make its price 
cheap, but also because an excess of production 
results in greater latitude for selection. Geneva 
may again illustrate, for besides watches, it 
makes a specialty of music boxes, and nowhere 
else can you find such a variety at such cheap 
prices. Of other specialties the tourist will do 
well to buy — 

Tortoise shell, coral and lava in Naples. 

Wood carving in Switzerland, the Black For- 
est, Sorrento, Norway and Sweden. 

Silks in Genoa, Milan and Lyons. 

Silver and gold filagree work in Genoa. 

Cameos, mosaics and many other kinds of 
ornaments in Florence, Venice and Rome — 
Florence being the cheapest. 

Pearls and turquoises in Rome and Florence. 

191 



Gloves in Naples, Genoa, Milan and Paris. 

Artificial flowers in Paris. 

Laces in Antwerp, Brussels, Venice and Se- 
ville. 

Venetian glass, of course, in Venice. 

Umbrellas in Milan or Switzerland. 

Toilet articles — soaps, perfumes, sponges, 
etc. — in the German cities and in Paris. 

Silk underwear, Sorrento and Milan. 

Cutlery, oid silverware, and Sheffield plate, in 
London. 

Engravings and all reproductions, in Berlin. 

The cheaper stones — amethysts, topaz, cairn- 
gorns, etc. — in Switzerland and Scotland. 

It will be noticed that in the foregoing list 
the names of Italian cities predominate. It is 
the general rule abroad that as you go south, 
prices drop. The easier it is to live, the lower 
the price the workman will take. And the 
easier it is to live, the more children and so the 
more competition for work. That is why Italy 
abounds in bargains. 

These hints as to postal matter may also 
prove available: 

All European countries, as well as the United 
States and Canada, are now in the Postal 
Union, and the rates from any one country to 
any other are virtually the same correspond- 
ing in the coinage of the country in question to 
the following on mail matter sent from the 
United States: — 

Letters, each half ounce 5 cts. 

192 



Postal cards 2 cts. 

Newpapers, books and other printed 

matter, each two ounces 1 ct. 

Commercial papers: 
Packets not in excess of ten ounces 

for each two ounces or fraction 

thereof 5 cts. 

Packets in excess of ten ounces, for 

each two ounces or fraction thereof 1 ct. 
Samples of merchandise: 
Packets not in excess of four ounces. 2 cts. 
Packets in excess of four ounces, for 

each two ounces or fraction thereof 10 cts. 
Registration fee on letters or other 

articles 10 cts. 

In his most comprehensive little work on 
European travel Mr. Luce forgets nothing and 
even includes these words of advice to the de- 
vote of the camera: 

It is often thought that in buying a camera 
the securing of a good lens is the all important 
thing, and that the mechanism of the shutter 
is a minor detail. Bean didn't think so when 
his shutter refused to work in the Alhambra, 
a place of all places where a camera in good 
condition seemed most desirable. It turned out 
that the wooden base of the shutter mechanism 
had been swollen during the ocean voyage so 
that something was thrown out of gear, and a 
camera that had done long and excellent work 
in America was for a while not worth a cent. 
Nobody could be found with knowledge enough 
of hand cameras to repair this one, and it was 
weeks before Bean's own struggle with the 

193 



thing in spare moments got that shutter into 
condition again. Moral: Have your camera 
thoroughly examined by an expert in such mat- 
ters before you start. 

Wherever there is a film agency, you can get 
your films developed, but the foreign work in 
this line is not equal to the American, and it 
is better to wait till you get back. Yet it is 
wise to have one or two films developed now 
and then to see that the shutter is working 
right and that the film has not been damaged. 



194 




CHAPTER XVII. 



The Paris Exposition of J900. 

NDER this head P. 0. Houghton & 
Co., steamship agents, of No. 115 
State street, Boston, have com- 
piled in the following compre- 
hensive form considerable infor- 
mation as to this coming event which is casting 
such a mighty shadow before it: 

SITE OF THE EXPOSITION. 

Preparations for the Exposition are now well 
advanced. The preliminary studies are made 
with great care and thoroughness, and the gen- 
eral scheme of the Exposition is now well 
defined. The works of demolition and construc- 
tion, for which the period of a little more than 
two years remaining will barely suffice, have 
begun and will be vigorously prosecuted. The 
Exposition will open April 15, and will close 
Nov. 5, 1900. The site will comprise the public 
grounds on both sides of the Seine from the 
Place de la Concorde, which is the centre of 
the city, to a point beyond the Pont d'Jena, 

195 



embracing the Champ de Mars, the Trocadero 
Palace and Park (site of the Exposition of 1889), 
the Esplanade des Invalides, the Quai d'Orsay, 
the Quai de la Conference, the Cour la Reine, 
and a large section of the Champs Elysees, 
including the site of the Palais de l'Industrie, the 
great building erected for the International 
Exposition of 1855, the first of the series. No 
other city in the world contains, in its very 
centre, an equal area available for a great expo- 
sition. This site leaves nothing to be desired 
in point of convenience, and lends itself admir- 
ably to the works of decoration and embellish- 
ment, in which the French people are past 
masters. 

ARCHITECTURAL, PLANS. 

The unique Palace of the Trocadero, erected 
for the Exposition of 1878, and utilized a second 
time in 1889, will be used, as well as several of 
the great exposition halls of 1889 in the Champ 
de Mars, but all of them will undergo more or 
less modification. The Eiffel Tower will be pre- 
served, but it is probable that some new and 
striking features will be added to it. 

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES, HOTELS. 
ETC. 

The national and municipal authorities and 
the management of the Exposition are preparing 
to co-operate in improving the transportation 
facilities and public conveniences of Paris, and 
in adding, before 1900, to the already numerous 

196 



attractions of the city. A number of modern 
hotels, some of which are already under con- 
struction, and several handsome new theatres 
will be built, and the magnificent Opera 
Comique, now in course of erection, will be 
completed. Public parks, gardens and squares 
will be created in all parts of the city. At night 
the city will be brilliantly illuminated by an 
extensive system of electric lights as far as the 
outer boulevards and including the Bois de Bou- 
logne and de Vincennes. 

It is the avowed purpose to make the Exposi- 
tion surpass all its predecessors, both in Franca 
and elsewhere; not, perhaps, in extent or in 
architectural features, for it is conceded that in 
these respects there is little hope of eclipsing 
the great achievement at Chicago, but in its 
artistic aspects, in the logical, comprehensive 
and scientific system of classification and award, 
and in the uniformity and harmony of the 
whole. 

GENERAL. PROJECT. 

The first international exposition was held in 
1855, the second in 1867, and the third and 
fourth, respectively, in 1878 and 1889. The 
interval between the first and second was twelve 
years; eleven years separated the second and 
third, and a like period the third and fourth. 
The Exposition of 1889 was scarcely terminated 
when the public opinion of France spontane- 
ously fixed 1900, the closing year of the century, 



197 



then eleven years distant, as the date of its 
successor. 

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. 

One hundred million francs ($20,000,000) was 
provided as a guaranty fund for the Exposition. 
Of this amount, 20,000,000 francs was appropri- 
ated by the National Government, and 20,000,000 
francs by the city of Paris, while 60,000,000 
francs represent the net proceeds of an emission 
of 3,250,000 bonds of 20 francs each. These 
bonds were issued by the Government, with the 
co-operation of five leading financial institu- 
tions, the Credit Lyonnais, the Credit Foncier, 
the Comptoir National d'Escompte, the Societe 
Generale pour Favoriser le Development de Com- 
merce et de l'lndustrie en France, and the 
Societe Generale de Credit Industriel et Com- 
mercial. These institutions underwrote bonds 
to the amount of 2,400,000 francs, and receive a 
commission of 5 per cent, on the sales. After 
providing for this commission and for the other 
expenses of the issue, there remain 60,000,000 
francs, which are deposited at the Caisse des 
Depots et Consignations until 1900 at 2V 2 per 
cent, interest, the Bank of France agreeing to 
make advances from time to time for prelim- 
inary expenses to the amount of 6,000,000 francs 
at lA/i per cent, interest, upon the security of 
receipts of the Caisse des Depots et Consigna- 
tions for deposits of the profits of the bonds. 

Any surplus that may remain after the ex- 
penses of the Exposition are defrayed will be 

198 



divided equally between the national and mu- 
nicipal treasuries. 

ADMISSIONS. 

The regular price for the afternoon will be 
one franc (19.3 cents). For mornings, after- 
noons and special days the admission price may 
be increased. Season and monthly tickets will 
be offered at a reduction. Every exhibitor in 
the contemporary exposition will be given a 
complimentary season ticket, and the necessary 
employees at his exhibit will also receive com- 
plimentary admissions. 

PROTECTION OF EXHIBITS. 

No work of art or exhibit of any kind can be 
copied or reproduced except by a special permit 
of the exhibitor, approved by the administra- 
tion. The taking of general photographs, how- 
ever, will be authorized. Inventions susceptible 
of being patented, plans and specifications of 
machinery, etc., will be fully protected. 

CATALOGUES. 

A general catalogue will be prepared in the 
French language, naming the works and produc- 
tions of all nations on exhibition, with the 
names of exhibitors and the location of exhib- 
its in the buildings or grounds. The sale of 
these catalogues on the exposition grounds will 
be regulated by the administration and will be 
subject to the payment of a royalty. 

RECOMPENSES, DIPLOMAS, ETC. 

All works exhibited will be passed upon, as 

199 



in 1889, by an international jury, which will 
have three degrees of jurisdiction — juries of 
class, juries of group, superior jury. 

Reports will be published by the Government, 
together with an official list of the awards. 

Only diplomas will be granted as recom- 
penses. They will be thus classified: grand 
prize diplomas, gold medal diplomas, silver 
medal diplomas, bronze medal diplomas, hon- 
orable mention diplomas. 

No exhibitor acting as a juror and no firm or 
company represented on a jury by any member, 
stockholder, agent or employe, will be eligible 
to an award. 

CONCESSIONS. 

Concessions and privileges for entertainments, 
refreshment booths, etc., will be granted by the 
Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts and Tel- 
egraphs upon the recommendation of the Com- 
missary General. All privileges for pecuniary 
benefit must pay a royalty or percentage of re- 
ceipts to the exposition. No advertisements, 
catalogues or prospectuses can be circulated in 
the exposition grounds except under special 
license, for which a suitable fee will be charged. 

REGULATIONS AS TO TARIFF DUTIES, ETC. 

The exposition grounds are constituted a 
bonded warehouse. Foreign exhibits may enter 
Prance through any custom house. They should 
be accompanied by a bulletin from the shipper, 
attached to the bill of lading and indicating 

200 



their nature, class, weight and place of origin. 
These goods will be transported directly to the 
exposition grounds under the conditions of in- 
ternational or domestic transit at the choice of 
the shipper. They will be exempt from statis- 
tical dues and from inspection at the frontier. 
Seals will be affixed without charge. All for- 
eign products will be taken in charge at the ex- 
position grounds by the special customs agents, 
and, if finally entered for consumption, will be 
subject only, whatever their origin, to the du- 
ties imposed upon like products from the most 
favored nation. 

CLASSIFICATION OF EXHIBITS. 

The post of honor is occupied by education — 
"the channel by which man enters into life, 
the source of all progress." Next come works 
of art, and the third place is assigned to the 
instruments and general processes of letters, 
sciences and arts. Then come "the great fac- 
tors of contemporary production,the most pow- 
erful agents of industrial achievement at the 
end of the nineteenth century," the material 
and general processes of mechanics, electricity, 
civil engineering, methods of transportation. 

A new group has been created for the "moral 
and material work of colonization," and the se- 
ries closes with the military and naval group. 

In all there will be eighteen groups and one 
hundred and twenty sections, as compared with 
twelve groups and nearly a thousand sections at 
Chicago. 

201 



The government at Washington is now en- 
deavoring to secure, in behalf of the League 
of American Wheelmen, the free entry of bi- 
cycles into European countries. On Oct. 27, 
1897, Secretary Sherman sent the following let- 
ter to the American ambassador, at Paris, and 
similar letters to the United States embassies 
at Rome and Berlin, and to the Legations at 
Berne and Brussels: 

Sir: I enclose herewith a copy of a letter addressed to 
me under date of October 15, by Isaac B. Potter, Presi- 
dent of the League of American Wheelmen, in which he 
represents the important standing of that organization, 
enrolling as it does, 100,000 associates, the number of its 
members who visit the European countries for recreation 
and the desirability of having that organization placed 
in those countries upon the same or similar footing of 
reciprocal privilege with other well-known associations 
of touring cyclists. 

It is presumed that the facilities accorded in France to 
the British organization and others on the continent 
have been reached by virtue of a reciprocal understand- 
ing whereby the formalities for the respective introduc- 
tion of cycles and the favors shown to the members have 
been specified. 

You are authorized to bring the matter informally at 
first, and afterward more formally, should a suitable 
occasion for such a course appear, to the notice of the 
Government of France, expressing the pleasure it would 
afford this Government to see a convenient and equitable 
interchange of courtesies established in this regard. 
Should you find a disposition to favorably consider this 
suggestion you will ascertain upon what terms the pro- 
posed arrangement might be effected. Respectfully yours, 

JOHN SHERMAN. 

Meanwhile Joseph Pennell, the L. A. W. rep- 
resentative in London, has been for weeks pur- 
suing the same object, and a letter has just been 
received by President Potter from Mr. Pennell 
announcing that the Swiss and Belgian govern- 
ments have decided to grant the application of 
the L. A. W. and it only remains to make out 
202 



the necessary papers. A letter has also been 
received from the embassy at Rome reporting 
favorable progress and asking for a quantity of 
"sample" membership tickets of the L. A. W. 
for use among the Italian customs stations. A 
further report is expected. 

The splendor of the last Paris Exposition is 
undoubted. Yet its success was attained in spite 
of the fact that it commemorated the fall of the 
Bastile, which did not make it too popular with 
other European countries which favored forms 
of government other than republican. In 1900 
no such adverse circumstance will militate 
against its success and it is sure to be wit- 
nessed by hundreds of thousands of English- 
speaking persons, ready to welcome the dawn of 
a new centurv. 



203 



More Details of the Exposition. 

The World Almanac, which we quote by per- 
mision, has among pages of other matter of 
details on the subject, these interesting facts: 

THE JURY. 
The jury will be, as in 1889, international, sub-divided 
into juries of class, juries of groups, and superior jury. 
Foreign jurors will be named by the Commissioners of the 
respective countries. The Foreign Commissioners will be 
ex officio members of the superior jury. The superior 
jury will finally revise the list of awards, and the dis- 
tribution of diplomas will take place about the beginning 
of September, 1900. 

AWARDS. 

Only diplomas will be granted, thus classified: Grand 
prize diplomas, gold medal diplomas, silver medal diplo- 
mas, and diplomas of honorable mention. 

MAIN FEATURES. 
The grand entrance to the Exposition of 1900 will be off 
the Place de la Concorde, close to the Seine, but there 
will be a multitude of other entrances in the Champs- 
Elysees, the Champs de Mars, and the Esplanade des 
Invalides. The Exposition authorities themeslves do not 
know what will be the most popular and striking feature 
of the Exposition, but it will doubtless prove to be one 
of the following, all of them novel and attractive: 

1. The street of modern Paris, running along the em- 
bankment from the Place de la Concorde to the Pont 
de l'Alma. This will illustrate the art and wit of 
France and will contain palaces of dancing, song, and all 
that is refined in the curiosities of Paris. The directors 
of the Opera and another leading Paris theatre are en- 
gaged upon its elaboration. 

2. M. Deloncle's telescope, bringing the moon's surface 
apparently within 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the spec- 
tator. 

3. A city of gold, near the Trocadero, showing every 
detail of gold production, with Californian miners and 
models of the mines. 

4. A gigantic Turning Palace, or Revolving Tower, 100 
yards high and lighted throughout by electricity. 

204 



5. The Grand and Little Palaces of the Fine Arts of all 
nations. 

6. The Pavilion of the Press, and those of the special 
commissioners which will be scattered over the area. 

7. An enormous Terrestrial Globe by the famous 
French geographer. M. Reclus. placed, owing to its size 
outside the Exposition proper. 

S. Palace of the Army and Navy and a Palace of Food, 
or Alimentation. 

WOMAN'S PALACE. 
In addition to these there will almost certainly be a 
Woman's Palace, showing the development of feminine 
education, training and labor; a switchback; a colossal 
vat; an enormous bell; imitation of the Blue Grotto of 
Capri, of the fountain of Vancluse; captive balloons; a 
cyclorama of the war of secession in America, and other 
devices to interest, charm, or amuse. 

THE EXTENT. 

It is calculated that the Exposition of 1900 will cover 
three times the space occupied by the exhibition of 1889. 
The ground will not be partitioned off by nationalities, 
but by sections, each section being devoted to a particular- 
industry or art. 

CONCESSIONS. 

In most cases the system adopted for the disposal of 
concessions will be auction sales and special contracts; 
and all applications for concessions for the right to estab- 
lish shows of various kinds should be addressed by the 
American citizen to Major Handy, Chicago. In all conces- 
sions there will be inserted the following clauses and gen- 
eral conditions: 

1. No one may bid for a concession unless he is domi- 
ciled in Paris or has a qualified and responsible agent 
there. 

2. The applicant must prove that he is possessed of the 
necessary means and is capable of carrying his under- 
taking to a successful issue. 

3. The applicant must make a deposit in accordance 
with the decree relating to all agreements signed in the 
name of the State. 

4. Concessionaires must build and install their shows, 
etc.. at their own expense and at their own risk and peril, 
and must submit plans of their buildings to the administra- 
tion of the exhibition on or before the day of . 

5. Water, gas, and electricity will be supplied by the 
exhibition at ordinary prices. 

6. All shows, exhibitions, and establishments directed 
by concessionaires must be open to the public throughout 

205 



the duration of the exhibition (from April 15 to Novem- 
ber 5, 1900), and from the opening to the closing of the 
gates. 

7. Precautions against fire must be taken by conces- 
sionaires at their own expense. 

8. No concession may be sub-let in whole or in part 
without the sanction of the Commissary-General. 

9. Cases of disagreement between concessionaires and 
the administration will be referred to a jury of three 
members, one to be designated by the Commissary-Gen- 
eral, the second by the concessionaire, and the third by 
the other two. 



20fi 



STtrt iFleet of transatlantic ^assen^er Steamers. 

Includes only regular passenger lines from New York. Offices and piers are in Manhattan Borough 
unless otherwise stated. ____^_ 



Townaoi. 


Hobsi 
Powxb. 


i 


i 


j'lp 



New Yobk and Glasgow, Pierl ALLAN-STATE LINE, 



foot W. 21st St 



(Office, 63 Broadway.) 



State Link Established 1872. 



State of Nebraska. 1880 Glasgow. 

Mongolia ,. . 1891 Glasgow . 

State of California. 18911 Glasgow. 



Lond.&Gl'gowCo.,Ld|2580 4000 

Lond.&Gi'gowCo ,Ld 3080 4750 

. ILond. & Gl'gowCo.,Ld'2670 4600 



660 Brown 386 43 32 

Braes 400 46 33.6 

386 4629.7 



New Yobk and Southampton,! AMERICAN LINE. 
Pier foot Fulton St, N. R j (Office, 6 Bowling Green.) 



Established 1802. 



St Louis. . . 
St Paul. . 

Paris 

New York. 



1894)Philadelphia 
~ ' Philadelphia 

Glasgow 

Glasgow 



Wm. Cramp & Sons. . 
Wm. Cramp & Sons. . 

J.&G. Thomson 

J.&G. Thomson 



6894111629(20000 

6874!ll629;20000 
62891079520000 
1631810803:20000 



.. iRandle. .. 

. . Jamison.. 
2000Watkins. 
2000lPassow... 



536.863 
635.8,63 
680 K53.8 
680 \ 



New York and Glasgow, Pier) 
foot W. 24th St ] 



ANCHOR LINE. 
(Office, 7 Bowling Green.) 



Established 1862 



City of Rome......|1881 

Anchoria 1874 

Bolivia... 1873 

Circassia 18 

Ethiopia..... 1873 

Furnessia U~" 



Barrow ...... 

Barrow 

Port Glasgow 

Barrow 

Glasgow 

Barrow 



Barrow S. B. Co.. 
Barrow S. B. Co... 
R Duncan <fc Co. . . 
Barrow P. B. Co.. 
A. Stephen & Son. 
Barrow S. B. Co. 



4006 
5495 



CUNARD LINE. 
Liverpool, Pier foot Clarkson St J (Office, 4 Bowling Green.) 



Young 

John Wilson. 

Baxter 

Bothby 

Wadsworth . 
Harris 



New Yohk, Queenstown, Ai*p) 



Established 1840. 



Campania ]1892,Fairfield. 

Lucania 1892 Fairfield. 

Etruria |l886 Fairfield. 

Umbria •.1884 Fairfield. 

Auranla... 1883 Glasgow.. 

Servia 1881 Glasgow.. 

Gallia l^g'Qlasgow.. 



John Elder & Co.. 
John Elder* Co.. 
John Elder & Co.. 
John Elder & Co.. 
J. & G. Thomson. 
J. <fc G. Thomson. 
J. & G. Thomson. 



12960|30000| * 



300001 
!30000| 



14600 2500 



7391 100001000 
4808| 45001 700 



Walker. 



H. McKay.. 

Ferguson 

14500 2500 Button 

85001800 A. McKay.. 
" "Watt 



Warr i^. 430.1J44. 6)84. 4 



620 66.343 
620 65.343 
601.667. 2 38. 2 
601.667.238.2 
470 67.237.2 
62.137 



New York and 
foot Morton St 



Havre, 



Pier) FRENCH LINE. 

J (Office, 3 Bowling Green) 



Established 1860. 



LaTouraine — 
La Gascogne. . . . 
LaBourgogne.. 
La Champagne. 
LaBretagne — 
LaNormandie. . 



St. Nazaire.. 

Toulon 

Toulon 

St. Nazaire., 
St. Nazaire.. 
Barrow, Eng. 



CieGleTransatlan'quei .. i 9778 
Soc. des Forges, etc.. 4168 7416 
Soc. des Forges, etc..Ul71 7400 
CieGleTransatlan'que3906| 7110 
CieGleTransatlan' que 3889[ 7010 



12000 
9000 
9000 



'3476! 6112 6500 



Santelli... 
Baudelon. 
Le Boeuf . 

Poirot 

Rupe 

Deloncle.. 



New York, Southampton, 
Cherbourg, and Hamburg, 
Pier foot 1st St. , Hoboken. 

FQrst Bismarck. .. 1890 Stettin 

Normannia 1890!Glasgow, 

Augusta Victor! a i ,1889 Stettin 

Columbia 

Pennsylvania 

Pretoria 

Palatia 

Patria 

Phoenicia 

Prussia 

Persia 

Armenia 

Arcadia 

Arabia 

Asturia 

Andalusia 

Adria 

Ambria 

Alesia 

Aragonia 



538 


66 


608 


52 


BOH 


52 


BOB 


61 


608 


61 


469' 60 



HAMBURG- AMERICAN LINE. 
Office, 37 Broadway.) 



Established 1847. 



1889 Birkenhead 

1897iBelfast 

1897iHamburg. . . 

1894,Stettin 

1894 Stettin 

Hamburg. . . 



1896 



Belfast 

Newcastle . . 

1896|Belfast 

Belfast 

Newcastle.. 
Newcastle.. 
Newcastle.. 
Flensburg.. . 
Flensburg. . . 
"ensburg... 



Vulcan S. B. Co 

Fairfield S. B. Co 

Vulcan S. B. Co 

Laird Bros... 

Harland & Wolff .... 

Blohm & Voss 

Vulcan S. B. Co 

Vulcan S. B. Co 

Blohm & Voss 

Harland & Wolff 

Harland & Wolff .... 

Palmers 

Harland & Wolff..... 
Harland & Wolff..... 

Palmers. 

Palmers 

Palmers 

Flensburg S. B. Co... 
Flensburg S. B. Co... 
Flensburg S. B. Co... 



12000;164(Kf 28TOAlbers.. . , 
12000 16000 ) 2750iBarends . 
12000 13600 2500|Kaempff . 



Splledt 

Kci 



Vogelgesang 



bpff.. 

Karlowa 

Bauer 

Leithauser. . 
Schmidt ... 

Reessing 

Magin 

Martens 

Pietsch 

Kuhn 

Schroeder. . 

Reuter 

Froehlich... 

Krech .-. 

H. Schmidt. 



620 


58 


62( 


67 


62( 


66 


m 


56 


m 


89 


66( 


62 


46( 


52 


460 


62 


46( 


52 


446 


51 


446 


61 


40C 


50 


4(M 


49 


40»i 


49 


39(1 


53 


4<Mi 


60 


44HI 


5(1 


404 


33 


404 


32 


404 


39 



.New York, Boulogne, Amstee-) HOLLAND- AMERICA LINE. 
dam, and Rotterdam. Piers foot ^NETHERLANDS-AMERICAN LINT 
6th and 7th Sts. , Hoboken. " ) (Office. 39 Broadway ) 



Established 1874. 



& Wolff.. 

& woiff.: 

& Wolff. 
& Wolff. 
& Wolff.. 
& Wolff. 
& Wolff./ 
& Wolff. 
& Wolff. 



Rotterdam 

Spaarndam..;.. 

Maasdam 

Veendam. 

Werkendam..., 
Amsterdam. ,«. 
Obdam 



Statendamt. 



Belfast (Harland 

Belfast lHarland 

Belfast Harland 

Belfast JB&rland 

Belfast, 
Belfast 
Belfast 
1878| Belfast 
Belfast 






Harland 
Harland 
Harland 
Harland 
Harland 



2277 
2361 
76O0 , 10600 



6000IBonjer 

""Wan der Zee. 
3500 Aid. Potjer. 

flStenger; 

flPonsen 

W. Bakker. 
Roggeveen . 
JBrufnsma... 



485 


53 


43(1 


42 


42C 


41 


42(1 


41 


410 


39 


411 


39 


411 


39 


3JH1 


88 


626 


601 



26,600 registered. 



t Building. 





Built. 


Builders, 


TONNAOK. 


HOBSB 

Power. 


Commander. 


Dimensions 
inPeet. 


Bnuumom 


i 


Place. 


ill 


1 

- 5 


<6 


i 

a 


I 


1 
1 


New Yobk, Southampton, and 1 NORTH GERMAN LLOYD. 
Bremen, tier 2d St., Hoboken./ (Office, 2 Bowling Green.) 


Established 1857. 



Kaiser WUhelmd. 

Gtosse 

Kaiser Freidrich*. 

Spree 

Havel 

Lahn 



Trave 

Aller 

Ems 

Freidrich d.Grosse 
Konigin Luise. 

Barbarossa 

Bremen 

H. H. Meier... 



Stettim . . . 
Danzig.... 
Stettin. . . . 
Stettin. . . . 
Fairfield. 
Glasgow. . 
Glasgow . . 
Glasgow . . 
Glasgow.. 
Statin. ... 
Stettin. .., 
Hamburg 

Danzig 

Newcastle... 



Vulcan Shipb' Id' g Co. 
Schichau Shlpbl'gCo. 
Vulcan Shipb' Id' g Co. 
Vulcan Shipb' Id' g Co. 
Fairfield E. &S. B. Co. 

Elder & Co 

Elder& Co 

Elder & Co 

Elder & Co 

Vulcan Shipb' Id' g Co. 
Vulcan Sbipb'ld'gCo. 

Blohm & Voss 

Schichau Shipbl'g Co. 
Mitchell, A' strong Co. 



27000 
26000 
13000 
13000 
8800 
7500 
6831 7500 
6381' 7500 
70(H) 
7000 

■ 
7000 
8000 



10500 
10500 
10500 
10500 



Englehart . . . 


649 


Stormer 


600 


Meier 


481 


Christoffers.. 


481 


Pohle 


464 


Blanke 


456 


Thalenhorst. 


465 


Wettin 


456 


Harrassowitz 


445 


Eichel 


546 


v. Schuck'nn 


644 


Richter 


646 


Reimkasten. 


644 


Steencken . . . 


481 



New York and Genoa, 
foot 2d St. , Hoboken. 



Pier 



NORTH GERMAN LLOYD. 
(Office, 2 Bowling Green.) 



Established 1892. 



Fulda „.. 1883 Glasgow Elder & Co I ... I 4814 6300 ... Petermann. 

Werra 1882Glasgow Elder & Co ... 4816 6300 ... Mirow 

Kaiser Wilhelm II 1888 Stettin Vulcan Shipb' ld'gC o.|477fl 6990 pw> ... Hogemann. 



New York and Antwerp, Pier) RED STAR LINE. 
foot Fulton St , N. R. / (Offi c e, 6 Bowling Green.) 



445 46 86 
445 46 86 

465 62 27 



Established 1873. 



Friesland. 
Westernlarid . 
Noordland... 
Southwark... 
Kensington . . 



Glasgow 
Birkenhead.. 
Birkenhead., 
1893 Dumbarton.. 
Glasgow ... 



J. & G. Thomson, . . 

Laird Bros 

Laird Bros , 

W. Denny & Bros,. 
J, &G. Thomson.. 



I !■>:■ 
600 



Nickels . . . 

Mills 

Loesewitz.. 

Bence 

Bond 



611 88 

471 85 

47 85 

67 87 

67 1 87 



New York, Christiania, Co-"] 

PENHAQEN, AND STETTIN, 

Pier foot 4th St, Hoboken. J 



THTNGVALLA LINK 
(Office, 28 State St.) ' 



Established 1879. 



Harland & Wolff. 



Amerika. 
Hekla.... 

Island. 

Norge „ 

Thlngralla., 



Belfast 

Greenock 

Copenhagen 

Glasgow 

Copenhagen 



Scott & Co. 
Burmeister & Wain. . 

Stephens & Son 

Burmeister & Wain. . 



New York, Queenstown, and 
Liverpool, Pier foot W. 10th St 



Thomsen . 

Laub 

Skjodt 

Knudsen . 
Berentsen. 



437 


41 


83a 


41 


824 


89 


84(1 


41 


801 


37 



WHITE STAR LINE. 
(Office, 9 Broadway.) 



Established 1870. 



Teutonic. 
Majestic-.. 
Britannic. 
Germanic. 
Adriatic. 
Oceanic*.. 



Belfast . 
Belfast . 
Belfast . 
Belfast . 
Belfast . 
Belfast. . 



Harland & Wolff. . 
Harland <fe Wolff-. 
Harland & Wolff... 
Harland & Wolff. . 
Harland & Wolff. . 
Harland & Wolff. . 



4269; 9984 
4269 9966 
3162 6004 



160002400 
16000 2400 



Cameron. . . 
E J. Smith. 
Haddock . . . 
McKinstry . 



665 


67 


665 


67 


456 


46 


466 


45 


437 


40 


704 





' New York and London, V WILSON'S & FURNESS-LEYLAND LINE; P. TlBTI , nTO 1fiM 
Wilson Pier, Brooklyn Borough f (Office, 22 State St. ) .established iaw». 



Alexandra... 
Boadicea..... 
Cleopatra.... 
Winifred 


......18971 

1897 

1897 

1897 


Glasgow ^Stephens & Son i . 

Glasgow Stephens&Son . 

Hull |Earl& B. & Eng. CoJ . 

Belfast Harland & Wolff I . 

W. Hartlep'IFurness, Withy & Co. i . 


. 110000 
. 10000 

. Iioooo 

. ilOOOO 
. 110000 






Marshall 

Brown ...... 

Farrington.. 


490 62.3 
490;52.3 
49052.3 

490 62.3 
49062.3 


84.6 
34.6 
34.6 
34 II 


Victoria 


1897 


34.6 



New York and Hull. \ 
Wilson Pier, Brooklyn Borough. / 



WILSON LINE. 
(Office, 22 State St. ) 



Established 1840. 



Buffalo ,.11886 Newcastle. . 

Ohio .1880 Dumbarton . 

Colorado 1887 Hull.. 

MarteUo 1884 Hull 

Francisco 1891 Newcastle. 

Hindoo ll889lNewcastle.. . 



♦Building. 



Palmers 2909 

A. McMill & Sons. . . . 2657 

Earles 2787 

Earles 2424 

RStephenson & Co. Ld 2971 
R Stephenson & Co. Ld 2407 



6O0Malet 

450Akester ... 
600 Whitton ... 

650 Potter 

600 Jenkins ... . 
500 Wing 



HKni 


46j 


360 


d 


370 


45 


370 


43; 


370 


47 


368l 


43 



TIME AND DISTANCE REQUIRED TO STOP STEAMERS. 

The following calculations as to the length of time and distance required to stop a steam vessel go- 
ing full speed ahead when the propelling machinery Is reversed were made by W. D. Weaver, late 
Assistant Engineer of the United States Navy, for London Engineer. Omitting the mathematical for- 
mulas, Mr. Weaver" s conclusions are given for the Cunarder Etruria, the Italian ironclad Lepanto, 
the United States naval vessels Columbia, Yorktown, Bancroft, and Cushing. and tna Russian tor* 





Displacement. 


Horse Power. 


Spee<j. 


Distance. 


Time. 




9,680 

4,680 

7,360 

1.700 

832 

106 

138 


14,321 
16,040 
17,991 
3,205 
1,170 
1,764 
1.303 


20.18 
18 

22.8 

16.14 

14.62 
22.48 
19.98 


Peet. 

2,464 

2,522 

2,147 

989 

966 

301 

373 


Seconds. 
167 




192 




136 




83.9 


Bancroft -.. . 


91 

18.4 


Wiborg 


26.6 






'«n j.o ' 




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